Ripple Announces CTO Transition: David Schwartz to Board, Dennis Jarosch to Lead Engineering

Executive Summary

Ripple, a prominent enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions provider, has announced a significant leadership transition. David Schwartz, the company's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for over 13 years and a foundational architect of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), is stepping down from his day-to-day responsibilities. Schwartz will assume a "CTO emeritus" role and join Ripple's board of directors, maintaining active involvement with the XRP community. Dennis Jarosch, formerly Ripple's Senior Vice President of Engineering, will now lead the company's technical operations. This executive realignment occurs amidst Ripple's ongoing efforts to expand XRPL's applications beyond payments and position its stablecoin, RLUSD, within the broader digital asset ecosystem, leading to an uncertain market sentiment regarding future technical direction.

The Event in Detail

David Schwartz formally announced his transition from the CTO role in a post on X, signaling a personal inflection point after four decades in technology. He emphasized his continued engagement with the XRP community, stating, "But be warned, I'm not going away from the XRP community. You haven't seen the last of me—now or ever." Schwartz will conclude his 13-year tenure as CTO at the end of the year and join the Ripple board to provide guidance on the company's long-term vision. His plans include dedicating more time to personal projects, such as operating his own XRPL node, researching new XRP use cases, and contributing hands-on coding to community initiatives. Schwartz's vision for the future of XRPL continues to center on stablecoins, tokenized assets, and decentralization. He was instrumental in the creation of the XRP Ledger in 2011, alongside Arthur Britto, Jed McCaleb, and Chris Larsen.

Succeeding Schwartz in operational leadership for engineering will be Dennis Jarosch. As Senior Vice President of Engineering, Jarosch is tasked with overseeing ongoing product and protocol development, ensuring continuity in the XRPL's technical roadmap and maintaining technical excellence and community engagement. The company confirmed internally that Jarosch will assume leadership of day-to-day engineering operations, maintaining product momentum.

Market Implications

The leadership change introduces a period of market assessment concerning XRP and Ripple's future technical roadmap. While the immediate market sentiment is characterized as uncertain, the long-term implications suggest a new era of technical leadership under Jarosch, complemented by Schwartz's focus on community-driven XRPL initiatives. This dual approach could foster innovation beyond Ripple's direct corporate control, potentially accelerating development in key areas such as new XRPL use cases and the strategic positioning of RLUSD.

Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO, described Schwartz as a "true OG in crypto" and a legend whose conviction and vision significantly impacted the industry, Ripple, and the XRP Ledger. Ripple President Monica Long acknowledged Schwartz's foundational contributions, including inventions like Proof of Association, the DEX, and smart escrow, essential to the community's existence.

Broader Context and Strategic Trajectory

Ripple's strategic realignments and the leadership transition occur within a period of significant growth for the XRP Ledger ecosystem. The company's roadmap for 2025 has prioritized upgrades to meet institutional demands for compliance and scalability. Key developments cited include the introduction of a Native Lending Protocol in XRPL Version 3.0.0, enabling pooled lending and underwritten credit—a step towards programmable finance. Furthermore, Ripple's $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road expanded the XRPL's capabilities in tokenization and stablecoin issuance, positioning XRP for global payments and collateral management.

Regulatory clarity, following the SEC's settlement in August 2025 which classified XRP as a utility token, has been a catalyst for institutional participation. This decision enabled the launch of the first U.S. spot XRP ETF, the REX-Osprey XRP ETF (XRPR), with subsequent approvals for Franklin Templeton and Bitwise. Data from Ripple's Q1 2025 markets report indicates a 300% increase in institutional trading volume on XRPL-based platforms, driven by tokenized assets and stablecoin liquidity. Ripple's strategic focus also includes APAC expansion, stablecoins (RLUSD), and tokenized assets, aligning with institutional adoption trends.

Technological advancements and increased activity underscore the XRPL's expanding ecosystem. July alone recorded over 70 million transactions, pushing the ledger's all-time total near 3.83 billion. More than 1 million new XRPL accounts have been created this year, averaging 3,000 new wallets daily. Decentralized finance (DeFi) activity on the XRPL also surged, with automated market maker (AMM) volume climbing 17% to 408 million XRP, and decentralized exchange (DEX) traffic jumping 21% to 465 million XRP. Cross-chain integrations have facilitated over $165 million in asset movements via Axelar to EVM-compatible chains. Stablecoin adoption is gaining traction, exemplified by BrazaBank's BBRL stablecoin surpassing $4.2 million in circulation, becoming the second-largest fiat-backed asset on the XRPL. The recently launched EVM-compatible sidechain attracted over 1,400 smart contracts in its first week, combining Ethereum-style programmability with XRPL's low-fee, fast-settlement infrastructure. Schwartz is also personally funding and operating a high-performance XRPL server in a New York data center with a 10GB unmetered internet connection, aiming to bolster network resiliency and performance as a personal initiative separate from Ripple.