In the Past, XRP to $0.25 Felt as Ridiculous as XRP to $100 Feels Today: Ex Ripple CTO

Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently revealed that, in the past, the $XRP to $0.25 dream felt as ridiculous as the $100 price feels today.

During a recent discussion on X, David Schwartz refrained from directly discrediting the possibility of an $XRP price run to $100. According to him, while $XRP to $100 currently feels ridiculous today, he and others also felt an $XRP rally to $0.25 was ridiculous when $XRP changed hands at $0.006.

Key Points

• While David Schwartz confirms he does not believe $XRP is likely to reach $100, he says he cannot directly discredit the possibility.
• Multiple $XRP community figures have suggested that $XRP could reach $100 in the future, citing growing utility in finance.
• According to Schwartz, just as $XRP to $100 feels impossible today, he also felt an $XRP rally to $0.25 was impossible sometime in the past.
• Schwartz’s comments show the unpredictable nature of the broader crypto market, which has often outperformed investor expectations.

Is $XRP to $100 An Impossible Dream?

The discussion began when a Ripple proponent asked Schwartz to speak honestly to investors about what he sees as unrealistic price targets.

He urged the former Ripple CTO to tell $XRP holders that $XRP would not reach between $50 and $100. According to him, several investors have lost money by holding onto those hopes, and Schwartz should address it out of conscience.

Responding, Schwartz said he does not feel comfortable setting such limits on $XRP’s price. He stressed that while he personally doubts that $XRP would climb as high as $50 to $100, he had underestimated the market before.

The CTO emeritus revealed that there was a time when $XRP reaching $0.25 seemed impossible. When the price hit around $0.10, he even sold some of his holdings because it already felt too high to make sense. He also compared this to Bitcoin’s early days, when most people never believed it could reach $100.

$XRP to $0.25 Also Felt Ridiculous in the Past

However, Crypto Bitlord, an $XRP proponent turned critic, reacted with frustration. He said it was shocking to learn that a Ripple developer sold $XRP at $0.10 while investors kept holding in hopes of much higher prices.

He also criticized Schwartz for now saying that $50 to $100 seemed unlikely. Crypto Bitlord argued that if Ripple’s leadership no longer believed in those levels, then the project had already lost its promise. He questioned why anyone should still hold $XRP, suggesting that the project had failed.

In response, Schwartz shared more context. Specifically, while he personally does not believe a rally to $100 is likely today, he stressed that when $XRP traded around $0.006, he also felt a move to $0.25 was just as unrealistic. This represents the same feeling he holds today.

When $XRP was $0.006, a price of $0.25 felt about as ridiculous as $100 does today. We had a $0.25 party and joked about how impossible $1 seemed.

— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 30, 2026

When $XRP finally crossed $0.25, the team celebrated because they once thought it would never happen. He also noted that people used to joke about how impossible it seemed for $XRP to reach $1. Yet, over time, the market kept pushing past price levels that once felt unreachable.

When Last Did $XRP See $0.006?

Notably, the last time $XRP changed hands at $0.006 was in February 2017 after a crash from the previous months. At that time, $XRP’s all-time high stood at $0.0614, significantly lower than the $0.25 level. From the $0.006 price, $XRP would need a 4,066% rise to reach $0.25. This explains Schwartz’s reservations at the time.

In that cycle, $XRP not only crossed $0.25 but also soared to a new high of $3.31 by January 2018. This marked a 55,000% increase, far outperforming the 4,000% rise Schwartz felt was impossible.

$XRP’s past performance taught the former Ripple CTO a lesson about how crypto can outperform investor expectations. As a result, while he believes a rally to $100, representing a 5,714% increase from the current price, is unlikely, he has refrained from making any definite statements.