Ripple CTO Shares Biggest Regret: Selling 40,000 ETH Too Early

Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently opened up on X about a decision that continues to haunt him. It all started when Schwartz mentioned in an X post that his biggest regrets were when he decided to lower himself to someone else’s level.

An X user commented, stating, “My biggest regret was not buying more at 50 cents,” referring to XRP, which has risen about 300% since its low of $0.50 in November. At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.43, having reached a seven-year high of $3.38 in January.

For me, selling 40,000 ETH at $1.05 is pretty high on my list of regrets too.

— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) February 8, 2025

The X discussion furthered with Schwartz revealing that “selling 40,000 ETH at $1.05 was pretty high on his list of regrets too,” making it one of his most significant regrets in his crypto journey.

Schwartz had acquired a significant 40,000 ETH during Ethereum’s pre-ICO era. Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, had personally invited him to participate, and driven by a desire to support the project, Schwartz committed 20 BTC without hesitation, culminating in the acquisition of the massive ETH stash.

40,000 ETH sold for solar panels?

The Ripple CTO previously stated that he sold the 40,000 ETH when it reached $1 and used the proceeds to buy solar panels for a home he no longer owned. The ETH stash was worth $100 million after.

Schwartz’s tweet elicited reactions from the crypto community. Interestingly, one X user asked the Ripple CTO about the solar panels now, and some reflected on the “$100 million opportunity” missed.

The Ripple CTO has maintained openness about his crypto ownership. As previously reported, Schwartz acknowledged in an X conversation that he had sold some Bitcoin (BTC) holdings in the past, but only to acquire additional XRP and Ethereum (ETH), rather than to diversify into other digital assets.

Schwartz revealed that during the pinnacle of his holdings, he had around 26 million XRP and that he has never sold XRP to buy other cryptocurrencies, except for maybe selling tiny quantities of XRP for “unusual” reasons.

Similarly, in a January tweet, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed his holdings, which included XRP, BTC and ETH, among a few others, while highlighting a multichain world and level playing field for all cryptocurrencies.

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