An internet dialogue involving members of the $XRP group prompted a public response from Ripple’s Chief Expertise Officer Emeritus David Schwartz, who addressed claims circulating on X that tried to hyperlink Ripple and Stellar to Jeffrey Epstein.
On Friday, the U.S. Division of Justice launched hundreds of thousands of latest information associated to Jeffrey Epstein.
The alternate started when X consumer Cobb alleged that “Ripple and Stellar are within the Epstein emails,” a declare that shortly drew consideration inside crypto circles.
One other consumer, JT Marlin $XRP Monetary, tagged Schwartz and requested whether or not the matter was coated by a non-disclosure settlement and if he may present additional clarification.
RIPPLE AND STELLAR ARE IN THE EPSTEIN EMAILS 😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/cFd6Fa3Etx
— Cobb (@Cobb_XRPL) January 31, 2026
Schwartz responded instantly, stating that he’s not conscious of any connections between Jeffrey Epstein and Ripple, $XRP, or Stellar. He added that he is aware of of no proof suggesting that anybody at Ripple or Stellar ever met Epstein or people intently related to him.
Schwartz additionally acknowledged that there are oblique hyperlinks between Epstein and a few people linked to Bitcoin, however famous that such connections are usually not uncommon given Epstein’s proximity to extraordinarily rich figures throughout numerous industries.
I do not know of any connections between Jeffrey Epstein and Ripple, $XRP, or Stellar. I do know of any proof anybody at Ripple or Stellar ever met with Epstein or anybody intently linked to him. There are some oblique ties between Epstein and folks linked to Bitcoin in…
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 31, 2026
Ripple and PayPal: The “non-profit” controversy
The dialog later shifted towards Ripple’s long-standing enterprise construction and regulatory scrutiny. JT Marlin questioned whether or not these points have been linked to Ripple’s previous tensions with cost platforms comparable to PayPal, and why Ripple, as a for-profit firm, confronted extra criticism than Stellar, which adopted a non-profit construction.
In response, Schwartz mirrored on early inside discussions at Ripple, explaining that he had been strongly against pursuing a non-profit mannequin on the time. He stated he felt that making a non-profit group whose success was intently tied to non-public monetary features would have been deceptive and probably illegal.
Schwartz likened the concept to a big company making a non-profit entity to advertise its personal business pursuits.
Schwartz later clarified that his views have advanced, emphasizing that these discussions befell effectively earlier than regulators started debating whether or not cryptocurrencies could possibly be categorised as securities, and earlier than preliminary coin choices grew to become widespread.
He additionally famous that, on the time, few folks anticipated that merely distributing nearly all of a cryptocurrency’s provide may generate tens of billions of {dollars} in worth.
