Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has admitted that he regrets selling some of his early cryptocurrency holdings, including XRP at $0.10 and Ethereum at around $1.
He says his decision was driven mainly by his aversion to risk, which he "really, really" hates.
"Obviously, I wish I hadn't done those things," Schwartz replied.
The Ripple veteran explained that the sales were part of an agreement he had made with his wife to gradually reduce exposure whenever his holdings reached new all-time highs.
“But I agreed with my wife to sell at every new ATH and I really, really hate risk,” Schwartz said. “I wish I was more comfortable with risk, but I'm just not that person.”
Unlikely price predictions
Schwartz previously revealed that he sold his Ethereum because he viewed extreme price predictions as unlikely
Addressing criticism over the early sale, Schwartz said that his decision was based on probability rather than a lack of belief in crypto’s long-term potential.
“If I had thought there was a 1% chance of it hitting $2,368, I would not have sold it for $1.05,” Schwartz previously stated.
Ripple veteran no longer holds much XRP
Despite once owning a significant amount of XRP, Schwartz has said that he has largely reduced his cryptocurrency exposure and "does not have much left anymore."
In April, Schwartz revealed that most of his remaining crypto holdings had been sold.
"I don't have that much left anymore," Schwartz said. "I've tried to get most of my assets (other than Ripple stock) away from crypto exposure."
He explained that his preference for lower volatility outweighed the possibility of future crypto gains.
The Ripple executive acknowledged that his decision could cause him to miss out on potentially historic returns but said he was comfortable with the tradeoff.
“I fully recognize that crypto may be a once-in-a-generation chance to get rich that we have not missed yet and that may mean that I miss a lot of it,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz's early XRP position in the token was substantial. At the peak, he held approximately 26 million XRP.
"Me? At my peak holding, I had about 26 million XRP," Schwartz said.
He also explained that his early crypto strategy involved moving into XRP and Ethereum after selling Bitcoin.
He added that his personality played a major role in his approach. The Ripple veteran has repeatedly said that maintaining peace of mind is more important than attempting to capture every possible market gain.
"I don't really feel my wins and my losses really sting. I still have more risk left than I'm comfortable with. But, obviously, I can't really complain,” he said.
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
