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ZEC $1,163 Schwartz says XRP Ledger is not trying to be Ethereum
Ripple's CTO Emeritus says the XRP Ledger targets financial tasks, not general computing, and points to 2027 plans.
Key takeaways
- A deliberate middle ground. Schwartz said the ledger has more functionality than Bitcoin but less than Ethereum or Solana.
- Two acquisitions combined. Schwartz pointed to Ripple's GTreasury and Hidden Road deals and said Ripple is combining them into one business.
- No product or date. Schwartz refrained from mentioning any product or announcing any definitive date for the 2027 outlook.
What happened
David Schwartz, Ripple's CTO Emeritus and a chief architect of the XRP Ledger, said most people who hold or follow XRP do not know what the network was built to do. He spoke at Nasdaq during the celebration of Evernorth's public listing.
Schwartz said the most common misunderstanding is where the XRP Ledger sits among major blockchains. In his view, it has more functionality than Bitcoin but less than Ethereum or Solana, and that middle position is deliberate.
He described the ledger as built for a narrow set of financial tasks rather than general-purpose computing. That focus makes it strong for some use cases and a poor fit for others, he said, and it comes with curated financial primitives aimed at what financial institutions expect.
Asked why a bank should build on the network, Schwartz gave three reasons. He also said supporters should not expect a single-chain outcome: Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin runs on the XRP Ledger but also needs other networks to reach more users and deeper liquidity.
On artificial intelligence, Schwartz said high-volume payments between AI agents may run on fast, low-cost channels with final settlement on a blockchain. He said settling imbalances between countries that buy and sell AI services will need a neutral settlement network, but he did not say that network would be the XRP Ledger.
First $1.52Latest $1.31-13.8% over the period
Points are daily observations, not closing prices.
Why it matters
Looking ahead to 2027, Schwartz pointed to Ripple's acquisitions of GTreasury and Hidden Road. He said Ripple is combining them into one business and plans to cross-sell products to clients who already move trillions of dollars through systems that do not touch crypto.
He said the Evernorth listing shows crypto connecting with traditional finance and gives investors a way to hold XRP through retirement accounts and on corporate balance sheets.
In a separate interview, Schwartz said he believes retail DeFi on the XRP Ledger will be very exciting in 2027 and called it the year institutions and retail meet on the DEX. He cited groundwork on XRPL amendments for on-chain compliance, known as PDEX and PDomain, and said privacy is coming soon.
He also said Ripple's acquisition and customers coming on chain is a flip-of-the-switch moment, and referred to goals from Monica in Korea to drive more Ripple customer activity on the XRP Ledger.
What is still unclear
- Schwartz did not name a product or give a definitive date for the 2027 outlook.
- He said a neutral settlement network will be needed for AI payment imbalances but did not say it would be the XRP Ledger.
Questions readers ask
What did David Schwartz say about the XRP Ledger and Ethereum?
He said the XRP Ledger has more functionality than Bitcoin but less than Ethereum or Solana, and that this middle position is deliberate. He described the ledger as built for a narrow set of financial tasks rather than general-purpose computing.
What is Ripple's 2027 plan, according to Schwartz?
Schwartz pointed to Ripple's acquisitions of GTreasury and Hidden Road and said Ripple is combining them into one business. He said it plans to cross-sell products to clients who already move trillions of dollars through systems that do not touch crypto.
Did Schwartz announce a product or launch date?
No. He refrained from mentioning any product or announcing any definitive date.
What did Schwartz say about RLUSD and other networks?
He said Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin runs on the XRP Ledger but also needs to be on other networks to reach more users and deeper liquidity. He said supporters should not expect a single-chain outcome.
