XRP Defies Expectations: Price Holds Firm as Ripple CTO Announces Departure After 13-Year Stint

XRP demonstrates remarkable stability amid leadership shakeup

Ripple's Chief Technology Officer drops bombshell exit announcement after more than a decade steering technical strategy

The cryptocurrency market watches closely as one of its longest-serving executives prepares to depart

Market resilience shines through organizational changes—proving once again that in crypto, the code often outlasts the coders

Another reminder that in this space, the only constant is change... and the occasional surprising stability when everyone expects chaos

Schwartz steps back as community weighs leadership change

Ripple’s longtime Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz, better known to the XRP community as JoelKatz, announced on September 30 that he will step down from his position at the end of 2025. In a long message on X, Schwartz described his 13 years at the company as one of the greatest honors of his life, second only to his family. 

Schwartz explained that while he is stepping back from day-to-day responsibilities, he will remain close to the community. He plans to continue running his own XRPL node, experimenting with new use cases for XRP, and engaging with developers. 

Ripple confirmed that he will transition into the role of CTO Emeritus and join the company’s board of directors. CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised Schwartz as both a technical visionary and a cornerstone of Ripple’s culture, joking that his new board seat made him “the boss now.”

While some traders speculated on the timing, noting that the news arrived just as SWIFT confirmed it is exploring its own blockchain-based solutions, most community responses remained optimistic. 

XRP price technical analysis

XRP is trading in a consolidation phase. Momentum indicators are mainly neutral, with the stochastic oscillator close to mid-levels and the relative strength index at 45. There isn’t a distinct trend, as shown by the commodity channel index and ultimate oscillator both remaining in neutral territory.

Moving averages paint a slightly bearish near-term picture, with most shorter-term EMAs and SMAs signaling sell. The 100-day and 200-day averages, however, continue to point to underlying strength and longer-term support for the token. A decrease in volatility, which often precedes a breakout, is indicated by the Bollinger Bands’ narrowing.

If bulls regain momentum, a close above the $2.98 resistance level could open the way toward $3.17, with further room to run if broader market sentiment turns risk-on. On the other hand, failure to hold above the $2.71 support level WOULD weaken the setup and expose XRP to a potential retreat toward the $2.60 range.