The XRP Ledger Foundation has added David “JoelKatz” Schwartz as an honorary board member, bringing one of the XRP Ledger’s original architects into a formal advisory role as the organization reshapes its leadership team.
The appointment comes days after the Foundation introduced a new operating team led by Executive Director Brett Mollin, with Denis Angell named chief technology officer, Rene Huijsen taking over operations, and Hussein “Vet” Zangana leading community efforts. Together, the moves point to a broader effort by the XRPLF to tighten technical stewardship, community engagement and institutional coordination around the ledger.
David Schwartz Joins New XRP Ledger Foundation
“We’re honored to welcome David Schwartz as an Honorary Board Member of the XRP Ledger Foundation,” the Foundation wrote on X. “As one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, David brings deep technical insight and a long-term perspective that will help strengthen the Foundation’s technical stewardship of the ecosystem. Welcome, David!”
Schwartz’s appointment drew immediate attention across the XRP community, not only because of his long association with the ledger’s design, but also because it follows his departure from full-time work at Ripple. Responding to a user who asked why he had left Ripple and whether he had sold his XRP, Schwartz said the decision was personal rather than strategic.
“I left Ripple because I had been working non-stop since the end of 2011 and felt it was time to stop doing this full time,” Schwartz wrote. “I still have some XRP, but I’ve been drastically reducing my cryptocurrency holdings since 2013 because I have a psychological aversion to risk.”
While he is no longer in a full-time executive role at the company, he emphasized that his work across the XRP ecosystem has not slowed down. In a separate reply, Schwartz said his current commitments now span multiple organizations and community-facing roles.
“I made a list of all the things I’m doing now, and it’s long,” he wrote. “Board member at Ripple, advising Evernorth, running a large hub, honorary board member at XRPLF, going to XRPL events, and regular meetings with devs.”
That workload underscores the unusual nature of Schwartz’s transition. Rather than stepping away from the ecosystem, he appears to be shifting from a single-company executive role into a broader advisory and infrastructure-facing position across XRP Ledger stakeholders.
The Foundation’s new day-to-day team is also notable. Brett Mollin will lead strategy and coordination across engineering, community, operations and partnerships. Denis Angell, described by the Foundation as one of the most prolific contributors to the XRPL codebase, is moving from XRPL Labs to the XRPLF and will oversee engineering, amendment work and technical standards.
Huijsen brings operational and payments experience from Ripple, as well as work related to the Bank for International Settlements’ cross-border payments interoperability efforts. Zangana will manage community, communications, validator and developer engagement, events and ecosystem storytelling.
The Foundation said it is “starting to collaborate with XRP ecosystem stakeholders to advance every area of community and technology — openly, transparently and with the public.”
At press time, XRP traded at $1.46.
