Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz recounts the sale of 40,000 ETH at just $1 each

Ripple’s Honorary CTO, David Schwartz, recently shared that he once felt like a “investment genius” after selling all 40,000 ETH he held early on, when the cryptocurrency was still in its infancy.

On social media platform X, he stated that he sold 40,000 ETH at a price of $1.05 each. Previously, he bought this ETH at an average price of $0.311, resulting in a profit of about 321%, or $42,000. However, shortly after this transaction, ETH entered a period of explosive growth.

Notably, Vitalik Buterin personally invited Schwartz to participate in the early stages of Ethereum. To support the project, the architect behind XRP contributed 20 BTC — the amount he used to purchase the 40,000 ETH mentioned above.

The profit Schwartz made from selling ETH was used to install a solar power system at his home in Oakland, California. However, according to his latest update, he no longer owns this house.

Regarding his current asset portfolio, Schwartz frequently publicly shares information about his personal crypto holdings — a rarity among Ripple leadership. He confirms he still owns Bitcoin (BTC), ETH, and some other altcoins. Previously, he revealed he once held about 20 million XRP — his largest holding of the token.

Schwartz’s exact net worth has not been disclosed, but estimates range from $90 million to $500 million, mainly depending on his stake in Ripple. Interestingly, he once chose to hold 2% of the company’s shares instead of receiving XRP.