Ripple CTO Pushes Back on 'XRP Can’t Be Cheap' Myth, Emphasizing Liquidity and Real-World Utility

The host of the Moon Lambo channel has challenged a long-running XRP meme claiming that Ripple’s former CTO David Schwartz suggested XRP could or should trade at “a million dollars” per coin. In a recent video, the host revisits Schwartz’s original 2017 comments, explains how they were later distorted, and highlights a newer clarification from Schwartz that undercuts the most extreme price narratives.

What Schwartz Said in 2017 About XRP Pricing

The controversy traces back to a November 20, 2017 X (then Twitter) thread in which Schwartz discussed XRP’s role in payments. A now-deleted post from that thread was recovered via a screenshot shared by community member XRP Canada.

In the recovered text, Schwartz wrote that if someone needs “a million dollars worth of XRP to make payments, the market price will be one million dollars,” adding that higher prices make payments cheaper because they move the market less.

He then included the line that has been widely quoted: XRP “can’t be dirt cheap, that doesn’t make any sense.”

Schwartz illustrated the point with an extreme comparison: if XRP costs $1, a payment flow might require 1 million XRP; if XRP costs $1 million, it would only need 1 XRP. In both cases, the payment value remains $1 million.

Schwartz’s Clarification: Payments, Not Forecasts

The host argues that Schwartz was using hypothetical extremes to explain liquidity dynamics rather than forecasting a token price of $1 million. The video characterizes claims to the contrary as misleading.

In a more recent exchange on X, Schwartz clarified the context. Responding to a community member asking why XRP is “still so cheap” given news around Ripple, treasury flows, and ETF talk, Schwartz said the earlier remark was framed “from the point of view of using it for payments,” while the later discussion was considered “from the point of view of an XRP holder.”

In other words, if the price is too low, XRP becomes less practical for large-value payments due to market impact and slippage, not because holders are “owed” higher valuations.

XRP vs. Stablecoins: Three Advantages Cited by Schwartz

The video also revisits a separate thread in which Schwartz discussed whether XRP remains relevant in an environment increasingly dominated by stablecoins.

Schwartz acknowledged that stablecoins can be preferable for certain use cases—particularly where volatility is intolerable or where a regulated counterparty is required. He also outlined three areas where crypto assets like XRP may retain an edge.

• Stability across currencies: A stablecoin is only stable against one currency, which can weaken its stability in multi-jurisdictional applications spanning different fiat regimes.
• Risk of issuer control: Stablecoins can be frozen or clawed back by issuers if they comply with court orders or government pressure.
• Open-market and censorship resistance: A decentralized cryptocurrency with an open market price is harder to censor and may be more suitable for users or AI agents that cannot practically defend themselves in court.

Schwartz also argued that “the upside is worth more than the downside.” He suggested that if funds must be locked in escrow for a year, he might prefer XRP or bitcoin over USD because “USD isn’t going up.”

Impact and Takeaway

The host frames the overall message as a practical view of how different assets can coexist: stablecoins and volatile cryptocurrencies may serve distinct risk profiles and payment or liquidity needs. For investors, the emphasis is less on specific price targets and more on design and real-world utility—payments, liquidity, and censorship resistance—rather than viral interpretations of a seven-year-old quote.

Key Questions Addressed

• Did David Schwartz say XRP could reach $1 million? Not as a forecast. He used $1 and $1 million as extreme examples to show how payment flows depend on notional value and liquidity, not a specific target price.
• What did “XRP can’t be dirt cheap” mean? It referred to the need for a sufficiently high price and deep market to avoid large slippage in large payments, not a guarantee of higher prices for holders.
• Does JoelKatz think stablecoins replace XRP? The view presented is that stablecoins can be better for some use cases, but cryptocurrencies like XRP still offer advantages in multi-currency, censorship-resistant, and upside-seeking scenarios.