[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] David Schwartz (데이비드 슈워츠), a former chief technology officer (CTO) of Ripple, said he regrets selling XRP and ether he held early on too soon.

U.Today, a blockchain media outlet, reported on July 21 (local time) that Schwartz said he should not have made that choice as he looked back on selling some XRP at $0.10 and ether at about $1.

He drew a line that the sale at the time was not because he denied the long-term potential of cryptocurrencies. He said his decision was based on risk management rather than expected returns, adding he was not used to tolerating volatility and he really hates risk.

He said his selling rule also aligns with that tendency. Schwartz said he chose to sell some holdings whenever his assets set a new all-time high (ATH), based on an agreement with his wife. He added, "I wish I was comfortable with risk, but I'm not that person."

He explained the background to selling ether in the same context. Schwartz has said he viewed extreme price forecasts presented in the market in the past as unlikely to be realistic. He said his response to criticism of early selling was that it was a decision based on probability. He said, "If I thought there was even a 1 percent chance that Ethereum would reach $2,368, I would not have sold at $1.05."

Schwartz's cryptocurrency portfolio is now sharply reduced compared with the past. He said he no longer holds much XRP, and he sold most of his remaining cryptocurrency assets in April.

That is a big change given the scale of what he once held. Schwartz has said he held about 26 million XRP at its peak, and explained that early on he used a strategy of selling bitcoin and moving into XRP and ether. He later changed his asset mix to prioritize lower volatility over the possibility of higher returns.

Schwartz also acknowledged that such decisions could lead to missing big profit opportunities in the future. He said that while he views cryptocurrency as a potential once-in-a-generation wealth opportunity, he chose peace of mind over that possibility.

His comments show that a key Ripple figure has reduced exposure in line with personal risk tolerance rather than publicly urging long-term holding of XRP. While acknowledging regret about missing opportunities during market upswings, he made clear that his investment decisions were based on managing volatility, not maximizing returns.

Obviously, I wish I hadn't done those things. But I agreed with my wife to sell at every new ATH and I really, really hate risk. I wish I was more comfortable with risk, but I'm just not that person.