David Schwartz Says He Sold 2.5 Million XRP and Paid $1.7 Million in Tax

Ripple CTO emeritus David Schwartz said Monday, Nov. 9, that he sold about 2.5 million XRP during 2025 and paid approximately $1.7 million in capital-gains tax on those sales. He said most of the tokens had come to him in 2020 and 2023.

The disclosure gives a sales total for one calendar year, while a separate estimate Schwartz shared in August described his holdings at that time. He then estimated that his XRP holdings had fallen from a peak of about 26 million to about two million. The Nov. 9 post did not reconcile the two figures; one describes sales during 2025, while the other estimates holdings in August.

Schwartz said each XRP sale is covered by a written plan set with an attorney at least 30 days before the sale. He said the process helps guard against claims that he traded based on information such as reports of XRP Ledger bugs.

In another Nov. 9 post, Schwartz said he had not bought XRP in a long time and had sold nearly all the digital assets he held. He added that he still owned “quite a bit” of Ripple stock.

The sale and tax amounts are Schwartz’s account of his personal holdings. His disclosure does not state how much XRP, if any, Ripple sold as a company.