Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), David Schwartz, has put forward the idea that Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, may have possessed a significant amount of XRP. In his deposition during the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit in 2021, Schwartz suggested that in 2017, Nakamoto probably held a substantial quantity of XRP, while Ripple was primarily focused on developing a payment system around the digital asset. Schwartz also highlighted how Ripple’s control over XRP gives the company a competitive advantage over other cryptocurrencies.
When questioned about whether Ripple’s control of XRP sets it apart from Bitcoin, Schwartz acknowledged the challenges associated with tracking the distribution of Bitcoin. Nevertheless, he asserted, “Satoshi, the original Bitcoin creator, probably held an enormous amount of XRP at the time [2017].”
An X handle known as Documenting Ripple, which chronicles the history of Ripple, shared an excerpt from Schwartz’s deposition on X.
Schwartz’s suggestion has sparked speculation about whether he could be the true identity behind Satoshi Nakamoto. Over the years, several events have fueled this speculation, and his comment about Nakamoto’s XRP holdings is likely to add to it. One such event is the correlation between the initial development of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Nakamoto’s departure from Bitcoin. In 2011, the same year Schwartz expressed his interest in exploring new ventures, Nakamoto announced plans to move on to other things.
It is worth noting that Schwartz, along with Arthur Britto and Jed McCaleb, played a role in the development of XRPL. Ripple adopted XRPL as its blockchain solution after its launch in 2012, coinciding with the company’s debut. Nakamoto praised Ripple for creating a reliable system that prioritizes decentralization, although his admiration was directed at Ryan Fugger’s original Ripple concept from 2004.
Furthermore, Nakamoto shared a pre-released version of the Bitcoin code on November 16, 2009, which happens to be Schwartz’s birthday.
However, it is important to clarify that these events, along with Schwartz’s disclosure about Nakamoto’s significant XRP holdings, do not provide conclusive evidence that the Ripple CTO is the true identity behind Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator.
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