Old posts from Ripple’s CTO Emeritus, David Schwartz, are stirring fresh controversy in the XRP community — and reigniting questions about whether a major exchange once refused to list XRP unless Ripple paid up.
What resurfaced
Crypto commentator Digital Asset Investor highlighted two X (formerly Twitter) posts by Schwartz from May and June 2023. In the May post Schwartz wrote bluntly: “The story of Coinbase listing XRP is the only story I most wish I could tell that I can’t.” That comment prompted speculation, and a follow-up June post sketched a hypothetical scenario in which an exchange declined to list XRP despite it being in the exchange’s interest — unless Ripple paid millions in fees. According to Schwartz’s hypothetical, the parties eventually struck a deal, the token was listed, and XRP went on to represent roughly 20% of the exchange’s revenue.
Community reaction and context
Members of the XRP community quickly read those posts as referring to Coinbase, given Schwartz’s earlier mention of the exchange. Digital Asset Investor’s reposting has amplified questions about whether Coinbase — or another large exchange — at one point demanded payment to list XRP. It’s important to note these remain allegations and community speculation based on Schwartz’s framed hypothetical; Coinbase has not publicly confirmed such a demand.
Regulatory backdrop and listing history
The claims come against a fraught regulatory backdrop. Coinbase had listed XRP before the SEC sued Ripple in December 2020, but the exchange moved to delist the token in 2021 as the litigation unfolded — the SEC had alleged XRP was sold as an unregistered security. In July 2023, after U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP was not a security in the context of certain sales, Coinbase relisted the asset.
Legal impact on XRP
The SEC case and the broader regulatory uncertainty weighed heavily on XRP’s market performance during the litigation period. Schwartz’s hypothetical also suggested that if Ripple had paid for listings, adversaries could have used that fact in litigation to argue Ripple was artificially boosting XRP’s adoption — a claim he said Ripple would have disputed, arguing any payment was meant to prevent its mere existence from harming the token’s ecosystem.
Market snapshot
At publication, XRP is trading near $1.32, down just over 2% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bottom line
Schwartz’s old X posts have reignited debate about exchange-listing practices and the role of payments or listing negotiations in crypto markets. While the posts feed speculation about Coinbase’s past conduct, there’s no public confirmation of the specific allegations — leaving the community to parse a hypothetical that touches on payments, listings and the long shadow cast by regulatory scrutiny.
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