On-line dialogue with members $XRP The group prompted a public response from Ripple’s Chief Expertise Officer Emeritus David Schwartz, who addressed claims circulating on X that try to hyperlink Ripple and Stellar to Jeffrey Epstein.
On Friday, the U.S. Division of Justice launched tens of millions of latest information associated to Jeffrey Epstein.
The trade started when X person Cobb claimed that “Ripple and Stellar have been included in Epstein’s emails,” a declare that shortly gained traction inside crypto circles.
One other person, JT Merlin $XRP The treasurer tagged Mr. Schwartz and requested if the matter was lined by a non-disclosure settlement and if he may clarify additional.
Ripple and Stella are in Epstein’s e mail 😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/cFd6Fa3Etx
— Cobb (@Cobb_XRPL) January 31, 2026
Schwartz responded instantly, saying he was not conscious of Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with Ripple. $XRPor Stella. He added that he was not conscious of any proof to recommend that anybody at Ripple or Stellar had met with Epstein or anybody intently related to Epstein.
Mr. Schwartz additionally acknowledged that there are oblique connections between Mr. Epstein and a few people related to Bitcoin, however famous that such connections will not be uncommon given Mr. Epstein’s proximity to extraordinarily rich figures from numerous industries.
I do not learn about Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with Ripple, however $XRPor Stella. I’m conscious of proof that workers of Ripple and Stellar have met with Mr. Epstein and people intently related to Mr. Epstein. There are some oblique connections between Epstein and folks related to Bitcoin…
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 31, 2026
Ripple and PayPal: the “non-profit” debate
The dialog then turned to Ripple’s longstanding enterprise construction and regulatory oversight. JT Merlin questioned whether or not these points are associated to previous tensions between Ripple and cost platforms similar to PayPal, and why Ripple, a for-profit firm, has confronted extra criticism than Stellar, which has adopted a non-profit construction.
In response, Schwartz recalled Ripple’s early inner discussions and defined that there was robust opposition to pursuing a non-profit mannequin on the time. He mentioned he felt the creation of a nonprofit group whose success was intently tied to non-public financial pursuits was deceptive and probably unlawful.
Schwartz likened the thought to giant companies creating nonprofit organizations to advance their business pursuits.
Schwartz later clarified that his views had developed, stressing that these discussions occurred lengthy earlier than regulators started debating whether or not cryptocurrencies might be labeled as securities, and earlier than preliminary coin choices turned standard.
He additionally identified that on the time, few folks anticipated that simply distributing a big portion of the cryptocurrency’s provide would generate tens of billions of {dollars} in worth.
