#161 - DAVID SCHWARTZ

David is the CTO of Ripple and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger. Prior to Ripple, David spent over a decade as the CTO of WebMaster Incorporated where he developed encrypted cloud storage and enterprise messaging systems. David is also known by his internet pseudonym “JoelKatz”. Follow him on X @JoelKatz.

[0:16] - What sparked David’s interest in distributed systems

[3:28] - How David discovered Bitcoin

[6:34] - The core technical innovations of Bitcoin

[8:56] - Ripple’s opportunity in payments

[12:45] - Misconceptions related to Ripple

[19:03] - Rebuilding SWIFT from a blank slate

[22:37] - Why David believes the future of crypto favors niches

[28:36] - The importance of blockchain interoperability

[31:47] - David’s views on tokenization and real world assets (RWAs)

[35:12] - Preventing centralized actors from co-opting blockchains

[42:26] - Balancing censorship resistance with institutional adoption

[47:50] - What excites David about the future of Ripple

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Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠Chase Devens⁠⁠⁠ for the show notes and ⁠⁠⁠Yiction⁠⁠⁠ for the music.

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