XRP All-Time High Clarified by Ripple CTO David Schwartz

XRP has recently surged to an impressive $3.66, sparking renewed debate in the crypto community about whether this marks a new all-time high. This discussion brings to light a long-standing question: what is the true historical high for XRP? Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, has stepped in once again to clarify these claims regarding XRP’s peak price, providing expert insights into past trading anomalies.

Amid the latest market rally, XRP’s performance triggered discussions across the XRP community. One of the central questions was whether the cryptocurrency had entered a price discovery phase. U.S.-based crypto exchange Uphold, which supports XRP trading, joined the conversation by polling the public on whether they believe XRP’s recent move to $3.66 counts as a new all-time high or remains below the past peak reached in January 2018.

Some participants in the discussion maintained that XRP previously hit $3.84 in early 2018, while others leaned toward naming the current $3.66 figure as the highest. However, many pointed to earlier statements from David Schwartz that challenge the credibility of the $3.84 figure. According to Schwartz, that value was distorted by inflated exchange rate calculations, especially those involving South Korean won (KRW) to U.S. dollars.

In a 2023 post, Schwartz explained that several price feeds during XRP’s 2018 surge included market data from Korean exchanges. These markets often showed inflated XRP/USD conversions due to using unrealistic currency conversion methods, a phenomenon intensified by what’s known as the Kimchi Premium — a common pricing gap caused by high local demand and stringent capital controls in South Korea.

Revisiting the topic in a recent exchange on social media, Schwartz reiterated that few—if any—investors purchased XRP above $3.30. He argued that transactions exceeding that value likely occurred either due to split-second pricing spikes or investor overpayment. He also confirmed that statistics exceeding $3.30 often stemmed from platforms incorporating South Korean exchange data that suffered from skewed USD equivalences.

Despite this clarification, some XRP advocates remain unconvinced. One user pointed to anecdotal trading on earlier platforms like Poloniex and Yobit, claiming that these contributed to the widely circulated $3.84 price tag. Schwartz responded by emphasizing that such values reflected average prices across exchanges, primarily fueled by the Kimchi Premium and not indicative of actual dollar-denominated transactions.

Supporting Schwartz’s claims, historical trading data from reputable global exchanges during the 2018 bull market shows more moderate highs: Bitstamp reported a top price of $3.31, Binance at $3.35, and Bitfinex at $3.30. Even Poloniex, often cited for higher trades, only recorded $3.50 — still below the often-cited $3.84 figure.

More dramatic was the situation on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange. In January 2018, XRP reached a high of 4,925 KRW on Upbit. With the KRW/USD exchange rate approximated at 0.00093 at that time, the converted value surged to $4.4, inaccurately giving the impression of a higher XRP peak. Schwartz highlighted this as a textbook case of the Kimchi Premium’s distortive impact on global pricing perceptions.

Taking all this into account, it becomes clear that XRP’s latest rally to $3.66 potentially marks a legitimate move into price discovery when compared with historical norms. If data from credible platforms like Bitstamp and Binance never exceeded $3.35 in 2018, then the current high significantly advances XRP into new territory. This recent performance, free from the data distortions of previous years, may herald a new chapter in XRP’s trading history.

Related: XRP Price: $12M Max Pain for Bears

As the market matures and pricing data becomes more standardized across exchanges worldwide, XRP investors can gain a clearer understanding of true asset performance. David Schwartz’s continued efforts to clarify historical inaccuracies serve not just to settle debates but also to bring greater transparency to the digital asset’s journey.