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Ex-Ripple CTO David Schwartz Labels Bitcoin a 'Technological Dead End'

His X posts argue Bitcoin’s dominance stems from network effects rather than base-layer upgrades.

Overview

  • Schwartz said he does not plan to return to Bitcoin development, replying "Not really" when asked if he would work on it again.
  • He likened Bitcoin to the U.S. dollar and said protocol-level innovation matters little to its success at this stage.
  • He cited Bitcoin’s coordinated 2010 rollback to counter claims that XRP Ledger’s early history uniquely reflects centralization.
  • The exchange followed criticism of XRPL’s early "genesis reset," which Schwartz defended as involving no coordinated rollback.
  • Coverage noted heavy online debate but little market impact, with Bitcoin steady and XRP near $1.38 at Bitcoinist’s press time.