The XRP Ledger Foundation has officially appointed Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz as an Honorary Board Member, adding one of the most recognized figures in the crypto industry to its leadership structure.
The announcement was shared through the foundation’s official X account, where the organization highlighted Schwartz’s long-standing involvement in the development of the XRP Ledger ecosystem.
“We’re honored to welcome David Schwartz (@JoelKatz) as an Honorary Board Member of the XRP Ledger Foundation,” the statement said.
The non-profit organization emphasized that Schwartz’s extensive technical knowledge and historical role in building the XRP Ledger would help strengthen the foundation’s future development efforts and oversight responsibilities.
According to the XRP Ledger Foundation, Schwartz’s experience as one of the original architects of the blockchain network brings valuable long-term insight that can improve the foundation’s technical stewardship of the ecosystem.
The organization stated that his expertise would play an important role in supporting developers, maintaining core infrastructure, and guiding future innovation surrounding the XRP Ledger.
The appointment comes amid growing attention around the XRP ecosystem. In another recent XRP-related development, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse received the “Business Leader of the Year” award from Harvard Business School.
However, the XRP Ledger Foundation clarified that it operates independently from Ripple. The foundation focuses on promoting decentralization across the XRP Ledger network while maintaining key repositories, assisting developers, and managing the publisher Unique Node List (UNL) used by validators.
Schwartz was one of the original developers behind the XRP Ledger alongside Arthur Britto and Jed McCaleb when the blockchain was launched in 2011.
The XRP Ledger was designed as a faster and more energy-efficient alternative to Bitcoin, aiming to improve transaction speed and scalability for digital payments.
Although Schwartz currently serves as CTO Emeritus at Ripple, he remains highly active within the XRP community. He frequently engages with developers and users on social media, discussing validator operations, protocol upgrades, and technical aspects of the network.
Despite his respected status within the ecosystem, Schwartz has also attracted attention for pushing back against extreme XRP price predictions. Recently, he dismissed speculation claiming XRP could reach $10,000 and rejected theories suggesting Ripple has undisclosed “secret plans” tied to the token’s future.
