- Joining board of directors
- “You are my boss now?”
David Schwartz has announced that he will step down as Ripple’s chief technology officer at the end of the year after more than 13 years at the company.
“The time has come for me to step back from my day-to-day duties as Ripple CTO at the end of this year. I’m really looking forward to spending more time with the kids and grandkids and going back to the hobbies I set aside,” he said.
Schwartz was appointed as the company’s CTO back in July 2018. Before him, this role was held by Coil CEO Stefan Thomas and Ripple/Stellar co-founder Jed McCaleb.
In his statement, Schwartz stressed his appreciation for the company and the community, describing his time at Ripple as “one of the greatest honors and experiences of his life.”
As happens in one’s life, I’ve been taking stock of my last 40 years. It’s been a wild ride. I’ve gone from consulting for the NSA to watching the early stages of Bitcoin. Then, I met Arthur, Jed, and Chris and worked on coding the XRP Ledger. Now, I’ve spent more than 13 years…
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) September 30, 2025
He has also expressed his gratitude to Ripple’s leadership (CEO Brad Garlinghouse and President Monica Long), co-founders Chris Larsen and Arthur Britto, as well as the RippleX team.
Joining board of directors
Schwartz has confirmed that he is not breaking ties with Ripple. In fact, he will be joining the company’s board of directors. He will also remain involved as CTO Emeritus.
“I look forward to seeing the rest of you at XRP community events around the world,” he said in a statement.
“You are my boss now?”
Ripple’s leadership has already reacted to Schwartz’s upcoming exit. Garlinghouse has described Schwartz as “the smartest (and maybe the funniest) person” he personally knows. “A true OG in crypto with the conviction and vision to see what others couldn’t – you are a legend,” he added.
He has also jokingly suggested that Schwartz will be his boss after joining the company’s board of directors.
The smartest (and maybe the funniest) person I know. A true OG in crypto with the conviction and vision to see what others couldn’t – you are a legend. Thank you David for everything you’ve done for the industry, for Ripple and for the XRP Ledger. We are all forever grateful…… https://t.co/tt4uX4JlkV
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) September 30, 2025
Long has acknowledged that the “mighty community” would not have existed without Schwartz. “I deeply respect your ingenuity, integrity, humor, and humility, which you demonstrate daily…” Long said.
