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XRP has emerged as one of the strongest performers in the crypto market today, posting the largest 24-hour gain among the top ten cryptocurrencies.
As traders search for a catalyst behind the sudden surge, Ripple’s former CTO has joined the conversation with light-hearted remarks.
XRP Outperforms the Market as Prices Surge
Today, XRP price touched the $2.40 region following a roughly 20% surge in the last 24 hours. The last time XRP traded at this level was in November 2025.
With this impressive rebound, XRP’s weekly gains improved by about 28%, significantly outpacing Bitcoin’s 7% advance over the same period.
Since the start of the year, XRP has climbed more than 30%, rebounding from December lows of $1.70. The token began the year near $1.84 and has since pushed as high as $2.41.
What’s Pumping XRP? David Schwartz Explains
As XRP accelerated, software engineer Vincent Van Code took to X to ask what was driving the move. He questioned whether the rally was news-driven or truly organic, noting that a non-news-based surge could signal a larger breakout phase for XRP.
Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz, now serving as CTO Emeritus, responded with humor. He jokingly suggested the XRP pump happened because he retired. Meanwhile, he added that cutting his hair might be his next market-moving move.
It's because I retired. Next I'll try cutting my hair.
— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 5, 2026
Van Code replied in the same playful tone, joking that perhaps Schwartz retired because he already knew XRP was about to surge. He later clarified that the exchange was all in good fun.
Schwartz’s Transition at Ripple
Back in October, Schwartz announced he would step down from his day-to-day role at Ripple after more than 13 years with the company. He reflected on his long career in blockchain, including co-creating the XRP Ledger and helping define Ripple’s technical direction.
While retiring from daily responsibilities, Schwartz noted he is not leaving XRP behind. He transitioned into Ripple’s Board of Directors as CTO Emeritus and will be working on XRP-based initiatives.
He has also expressed interest in returning to hands-on development, exploring new XRPL use cases, experimenting with code, and potentially launching new projects beyond Ripple’s current focus.
What Comes Next for XRP
With XRP now outperforming much of the market, traders are projecting a price rally to its all-time high. For instance, community figure Zach Rector has said XRP is on track to repeat its July 2025 run, which saw its price reach $3.66.
At the same time, prominent crypto podcaster Mario Nawfal argued that $4 is a realistic target for XRP. Others, like Charting Guy, are even calling for an $8 XRP, a nearly 4x price increase from current levels.