Ripple CTO David Schwartz, known not only for his viral online moments regarding XRP and cryptocurrencies, but also for his significant contributions to XRPL, recently delivered another such moment. Many probably couldn’t understand his latest post featuring solar panels, but this post has deep lore tied directly to cryptocurrencies.
“Post a photo that only fans can understand” is the challenge that Schwartz attached with a confusing photo, which, for those not familiar, is related to the fact that he spent 40,000 ETH. These Ethereum coins were purchased for $0.311 each in the largest altcoin ICO in 2015.
Later, when the price of ETH rose 321.5% to $1, he sold his entire stash and used the proceeds to buy solar panels.
https://t.co/bgda64sYKL pic.twitter.com/ZCu17OsGK1
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) October 7, 2025
A win is a win, and some would say that achieving a 321.5% return on investment is definitely a near accomplishment. However, if Mr. Schwartz had not sold his Ethereum holdings, his gain would have been a whopping 1,521,498%, and the bag itself would have been worth a whopping $188 million.
“What if…?”
For perspective, this makes him one of the most successful ICO investors of all time, a story often brought up by crypto forums and Twitter users as one of the legendary “what if” scenarios.
Still, history does not tolerate a subjunctive atmosphere. Who knows, perhaps if Schwartz had held on, Ethereum itself would not have reached such heights. In addition to that, the money was well spent on what was needed and his profits turned into something practical and sustainable.
For example, Elon Musk, a well-known solar panel producer whose Tesla subsidiary owns Tesla, would approve the allocation of such funds.
