David Schwartz, former chief technology officer at Ripple, said the cryptocurrency that delivered him the biggest return was XRP.

On May 12, blockchain media outlet BeInCrypto reported that Schwartz answered XRP on X, formerly Twitter, when asked which token generated the biggest return.

Schwartz stepped down as Ripple CTO early this year and previously took part in designing the XRP Ledger. He said he once held 26 million XRP and also owned about 1,000 bitcoin and 40,000 ether. He added that over time he sharply reduced his exposure to all three assets.

But his cumulative return was largest on XRP. That was because the XRP he secured early as a Ripple co-founding member, even after being gradually sold over years, outperformed his gains from bitcoin and ether. XRP hit an all-time high of $3.65 in July 2025 and is now trading around $1.46, maintaining the fourth-largest market capitalisation.

By contrast, ether and bitcoin missed larger gains due to early sales. Schwartz acknowledged selling ether at about $1.05 per coin and has also expressed regret about that decision. He also reduced his bitcoin holdings from about 1,000 to less than 1, and those sales happened well before bitcoin reached $100,000.

His investment approach was closer to locking in a certain profit rather than waiting through the full rise. He has described himself as risk-averse.

Schwartz also acknowledged a contradiction in that stance. He said his major cryptocurrency investments produced much better results than expected, but emotionally he found it hard to actively take risks. Asked what advice he would give his younger self, he said he would tell himself to take greater risks in cryptocurrency. He added that his past self would have ignored that advice.

His current portfolio also reflects that tendency. Schwartz has said his remaining exposure is almost entirely concentrated in XRP and his Ripple stake. Ripple's private company valuation is estimated at about $40 billion.

The remarks are seen as an example of how an early XRP designer has held and reduced assets. In particular, it was confirmed that even though he repeatedly sold bitcoin and ether early, the XRP he secured at the outset ultimately generated the biggest return. In this 흐름, whether long-term XRP holders will also cut exposure during future price rises remains another market focus.

XRP by far.