What To Know:
- David Schwartz called Bitcoin a “technological dead end,” arguing that its success no longer depends on base-layer innovation.
- He questioned Bitcoin’s decentralization and governance history, citing past incidents that required coordinated human intervention.
- Schwartz also pushed back on bold XRP price predictions, saying current market behavior does not support near-term $100 targets.
Ripple’s CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has described Bitcoin as “a technological dead end,” as he argued that the crypto’s success no longer depends on innovation at the protocol level.
Schwartz, a co-creator of the XRP Ledger, made the remarks in response to a question from an XRP community member about whether he would consider contributing to Bitcoin development again. His answer was that he had little interest in returning to work on Bitcoin.
Ripple CTO Weighs in On Bitcoin Technology
“Not really,” Schwartz wrote on X. “I think bitcoin is largely a technological dead end for the same reason the dollar is. The technology just doesn’t seem to matter all that much to its success, at least not at the blockchain layer.”
Bitcoin had at least two incidents that showed way more centralization than this incident did, especially since the decision in this incident was *not* to make any coordinated changes and just live with it.
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) February 9, 2026
In his view, upgrades at the base layer play a limited role in determining its long-term trajectory.
Schwartz also disclosed that he had sold nearly all of his Bitcoin holdings years ago for around $7,500.
Over the past year, Schwartz has repeatedly challenged common narratives surrounding Bitcoin. He has questioned the extent to which the network operates in a fully decentralized and permissionless manner. In December, he claimed that while no XRP transaction has ever been censored or treated unfairly in more than a decade, Bitcoin miners have at times delayed transactions they disfavored.
He has also pointed to historical incidents within the Bitcoin network that, in his assessment, demonstrated stronger elements of central coordination than critics attribute to the XRP Ledger. In a previous discussion, Schwartz argued that every blockchain ultimately depends on human governance during moments of crisis.
In 2013, Bitcoin saw an emergency response to resolve a chain split caused by a software bug. Developers and miners coordinated to restore network stability. Schwartz has cited that episode as evidence that no blockchain operates without some level of human decision-making when technical failures occur.
Beyond governance, Schwartz has raised concerns about Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus model. He offered a potential situation in which high prices and declining transaction volumes could create security pressures over time. In that case, miner incentives might weaken if fee revenue fails to compensate for reduced block rewards. He has described this as a structural vulnerability rather than an immediate threat.
Recently, Schwartz had also addressed speculation surrounding XRP’s price. In recent weeks, social media discussions have revived claims that XRP could reach $50 or even $100 in the near future. Schwartz dismissed such projections as unsupported by current market behavior.
He argued that asset prices reflect the conviction of buyers willing to commit capital. If a meaningful number of rational investors believed there was even a modest chance that XRP would reach $100 within a few years, current price levels would look significantly different.
“If many rational people believed that there was a 10% chance that XRP hit $100 within a few years, they definitely wouldn’t sell very much today at much less than $10,” he wrote. Investors with that belief, he said, would accumulate aggressively at lower levels, pushing the market higher.
The fact that XRP continues to trade well below $10 indicates limited conviction behind such projections, according to Schwartz. He concluded that claims of near-term triple-digit prices lack strong capital backing.
As of the latest market data, XRP is trading at $1.38 after gaining 1.3 percent over the past 24 hours.
