Key Takeaways
- David Schwartz says Ripple has no secret plan after an XRP holder demanded answers about years of loyalty.
- He expects XRP’s price to benefit from ledger adoption but rejects transaction fees as a major price driver.
- His comments come amid a separate debate over whether institutional demand could support $30 XRP.
XRP Ledger co-creator David Schwartz has rejected suggestions that Ripple is withholding a plan to reward XRP holders.
With XRP’s price trading around $1.10 during the discussion, Schwartz argued that the crypto should capture value if the XRP Ledger succeeds.
His response comes as frustrated holders question why Ripple’s institutional expansion has failed to lift XRP, while a fresh clash over $1,000 forecasts has prompted one community bull to argue for $30.
Schwartz Pushes Back as XRP Holder Demands Answers
The exchange began with X user My2Cents calling on Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse or Schwartz to address anger among XRP holders and explain whether their long-standing support would eventually be rewarded.
“Promise after promise and 0 results,” the user wrote, expressing frustration with what they described as a decade of loyalty.
In his Nov. 9 response, Schwartz rejected the suggestion that Ripple had kept its intentions hidden.
“I’m not sure what you think we haven’t already told you. We talk about our plans constantly. There’s no secret plan we aren’t telling you about.”
My2Cents then asked him to address a more specific concern:
“xrp is just a funding token to advance ripple and not benefit xrp holders”
Another participant, VanceGG, suggested Ripple could give XRP a larger role within its ecosystem, questioning whether its use to pay transaction fees provided a convincing explanation for its value.
Schwartz dismissed the idea that fees alone would be expected to deliver substantial price appreciation.
“I don’t think anyone knowledgeable has suggested that XRP’s use as gas would be a significant driver of the price of XRP.”
Schwartz Says XRP Should Capture Value From Ledger Growth
Schwartz pointed back to a Nov. 4, 2025 post describing XRP’s position within the ledger.
In the passage he resurfaced, he argued that wider adoption should benefit XRP because of its privileged role.
He described it as an asset without a counterparty and highlighted its preferential treatment in autobridging, which can route exchanges between assets through XRP.
He added: “I really do think it’s hard to believe we will end up in a world where XRPL is successful but XRP fails to capture a good fraction of that value.”
Schwartz has also argued that higher XRP prices could make liquidity more cost-effective and reduce slippage during transfers.
$1000 XRP Price Debate Reignites
Schwartz’s comments touch on a question raised in a separate Nov. 8 exchange, when market commentator ChartNerd challenged some of the XRP community’s most ambitious price forecasts.
ChartNerd rejected a $1,000 XRP valuation, arguing that holding the token for longer would not make that target achievable.
“Not because you can’t hold on for it to happen, but because it wont arrive.”
Instead, he described $5–$8 as “a much more realistic and logical target range in the coming years.”
However, pushback against $1,000 XRP forecasts has not stopped some holders from arguing for substantial gains.
Within the community, a separate bullish case puts $30 within reach if institutional adoption creates sustained demand and reduces the supply available to buyers.
The assessment drew pushback from an XRP bull in the community, posting under the name Coach Kilgore, who argued that the range could represent an initial move rather than a ceiling.
“I see $5–$8 as the first wave, driven by natural market movement,” the user wrote in response.
“Growing utility and institutional adoption could push XRP toward $30.”
XRP Price Bulls Keep Promoting $1,000 Targets
ChartNerd’s criticism follows months of extraordinary XRP forecasts, with bullish commentators pointing to institutional adoption and tighter supply as reasons for prices to reach three or four figures.
As CCN previously reported, EasyA co-founder Dom Kwok revived his $1,000 prediction in September, telling followers:
“$1,000 is more likely than ever.”
The post attracted more than one million views.
ChartNerd challenged Kwok’s $1,000-by-2030 call alongside Jake Claver’s prediction of $750 XRP before the end of 2026.
Kwok responded: “If you can’t see it, it’s not my duty to convince you.”
ChartNerd argued that bullishness should still leave room for scrutiny, writing that supporters could “be bullish and still demand evidence.”
At an assumed circulating supply of 63.5 billion tokens, $1,000 XRP would imply a market capitalization of $63.5 trillion.
From $1.10, reaching that price would require a gain of roughly 90,809%.
Could $30 XRP Overtake Meta and Tesla?
Even without reaching the $1,000 valuations promoted by some bulls, $30 XRP would represent an enormous repricing of the asset.
From a starting price of $1.10, XRP would need to rise over 2,627%, making it worth around 27 times that reference price.
Using a circulating supply of 63.5 billion tokens, the competing targets imply the following market values:
| XRP price |
Implied market capitalization |
| $5 |
$317.5 billion |
| $8 |
$508 billion |
| $30 |
$1.905 trillion |
| $1,000 |
$63.5 trillion |
At $30, XRP’s $1.905 trillion valuation would exceed Meta’s approximately $1.64 trillion and Tesla’s $1.49 trillion market capitalizations.
It would also be worth roughly 3.3 times Mastercard’s $571 billion valuation, although it would remain below half of Microsoft’s approximately $4.05 trillion market value.
Is $30 XRP a Likely Outcome?
The frustration behind the recent confrontation reflects a widening gap between Ripple’s institutional announcements, the extraordinary price targets circulating in the community and XRP’s actual performance.
For holders expecting adoption to drive substantial gains, each new partnership has been met with dissapointment as XRP’s price barely moves.
It’s also important to note that many developments emphasize RLUSD and other services, raising concerns that Ripple is expanding its business without delivering comparable benefits to XRP holders.
The challenge for the $30 argument is that Ripple has already announced a series of institutional developments while XRP’s price has continued to struggle.
As CCN reported in October, five announcements spanning brokerage, custody, tokenization and settlement failed to produce a sustained recovery.
They included Ripple Prime’s work with Brevan Howard, Standard Chartered’s RLUSD custody service, and partnerships with Meritz Securities and DriveWealth.
Further developments have continued to follow, with XRP’s price continuing to be muted.
BNY added custody support for XRP and RLUSD, expanding the infrastructure available to eligible institutional investors.
Meanwhile, Aviva Investors launched a tokenized share class of its Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger, with Aviva allocating £50 million.
DriveWealth’s integration, for example, centers on RLUSD settlement alongside payments and custody services; its announcement also prompted XRP holders to question how much the token itself would benefit.
With XRP around $1.10 during Schwartz’s latest exchange, all of these developments have yet to produce the substantial appreciation anticipated by bullish commentators.
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
