David Schwartz, the longtime chief technologist at Ripple, is taking matters into his own hands to strengthen the XRP Ledger’s infrastructure — personally funding and deploying a high-powered server to support the network’s growth.
His plan is to create a dedicated hub that can host UNL validators and XRPL-connected services, equipped with top-tier hardware and a 10GB unmetered connection in a New York data center. Schwartz made clear this is not an official Ripple project but rather his own contribution to the ecosystem, aimed at improving reliability and gathering performance data without interfering in normal network operations.
The timing of his move comes as the XRP Ledger posts some of its strongest activity to date. July alone saw more than 70 million transactions processed, lifting the ledger’s lifetime total to nearly 3.83 billion. Adoption continues to climb, with over 1 million new accounts added this year and roughly 3,000 wallets being created daily.
On-chain markets are also heating up. Automated market maker volume rose 17% to 408 million XRP in July, while decentralized exchange activity climbed 21% to 465 million XRP. Cross-chain flows are gaining traction too, with over $165 million moved via Axelar to Ethereum-compatible networks. Stablecoin adoption on XRPL is expanding, highlighted by BrazaBank’s BBRL, which surpassed $4.2 million in issuance and now ranks as the network’s second-largest fiat-pegged asset.
Adding to the momentum, XRPL’s new EVM-compatible sidechain — launched at the end of June — has already attracted over 1,400 smart contracts in its first week, offering developers Ethereum’s flexibility alongside XRPL’s low-cost, high-speed settlement.
The combination of rapid ecosystem growth and targeted infrastructure investment from figures like Schwartz signals a period of both technical and community-driven expansion for XRPL, positioning it to handle greater transaction volumes and more diverse applications in the months ahead.
