Block Stars with David Schwartz

Europe’s financial landscape is evolving and the euro is officially going onchain. In this episode of Block Stars, Ripple CTO David Schwartz sits down with Martin Bruncko, Co-Founder and CEO of Schuman Financial, to discuss the launch of EURØP — the first fully compliant, euro-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Together, they explore what this milestone means for the future of global paym...

In this special 2025 blockchain trends and predictions episode of Block Stars, Ripple CTO David Schwartz sits down with Markus Infanger, SVP of RippleX, to unpack what’s ahead for blockchain, DeFi, and institutional adoption. From zero-knowledge proofs to tokenized money market funds, corporate treasury diversification, and the future of programmability on the XRP Ledger—this conversation dives in...

In this special episode of Block Stars, join David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple, and Dimitri Restaino, Senior Solutions Architect at AWS, as they explore the exciting convergence of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this dynamic conversation, David and Dimitri dive into how the integration of AI and blockchain technologies is set to revolutionize industries ranging from finance to decentr...

Welcome to a special live episode of Block Stars! In this episode, recorded on stage at one of the biggest blockchain events of the year, our host David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple, is joined by the CTO of Axelar, Georgios Vlachos. Together, they dive into the future of blockchain interoperability and how Axelar is playing a critical role in connecting blockchain ecosystems. What to Expect: Live from...

Welcome to another exciting episode of Block Stars! In this special edition, we shed light on Ripple’s latest innovation - an all-new stablecoin which will be issued on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchains. Join our host, David Schwartz, as he engages in an insightful discussion with Ripple President Monica Long on RLUSD use cases, advantages, integrations and more. What to Expect: - Explore th...

Welcome to another exciting episode of Block Stars! In this special edition, we are thrilled to spotlight the upcoming XRP Ledger Apex 2024 – the official global community summit that unites developers, innovators, businesses, and investors for an exciting three-day celebration of blockchain technology and the incredible world of the XRP Ledger. Join our host, David Schwartz, as he dives into a ca...

In the latest episode of Block Stars, David Schwartz, Ripple CTO, teams up with leading experts Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy and Government Affairs at TRM Labs and Ronghui Gu, Co-Founder of CertiK to unravel the complexities of blockchain security.  - Explore the evolution of blockchain security over the past decade, highlighting XRPL's stability and the opportunities and risks posed by...

In the final episode of Block Stars for 2023, David Schwartz, Ripple CTO, teams up with Red, a leading analyst at Messari, to uncover what lays ahead in 2024 for blockchain. - AI and Blockchain: Join us for an exploration into the transformative convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain - RWA Tokenization: Uncover the potential of Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization, enhancing len...

In this episode of Block Stars, David Schwartz, Ripple CTO, explores the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible XRP Ledger sidechain with special guests Ferran Prat, CEO at Peersyst and Adria Carrera, CTO at Peersyst. The episode explores: - The capabilities of the XRP Ledger EVM Sidechain and its role in bringing innovative applications to the XRP Ledger community. - Interoperability, emphasiz...

The groundbreaking July 2023 ruling from the SEC and XRP lawsuit found that XRP is not in and of itself a security. XRP's status as a non-security in the US and other jurisdictions provides a solid foundation of clarity for developers looking to establish and grow a blockchain-based business. This outcome further enables blockchain developers to build with confidence on the XRP Ledger - an op...

Developer communities drive innovation, collaboration and adoption within the blockchain and crypto space. But why are thriving developer communities so important in web3, and how do they foster further learning and development? This episode of Block Stars with David Schwartz features special guest speakers from the  XRP Ledger Foundation and XRPL Commons to discuss: The significant impact of web3...

The tokenization of real-world assets (or RWAs) is one of—if not the—most enduring use cases for crypto and blockchain. According to recent reports, Boston Consulting Group puts the total estimated value of the tokenized RWA market at upwards of $16T by 2030. But since essentially anything can be tokenized, when we talk about tokenizing RWAs, we’re talking about boiling the ocean.  This episode of...

The latest episode of Block Stars with David Schwartz features special guest speakers from Heirloom, Fractal. ID, Ripple, and The & Company to demystify decentralized identity (DiD). David and guests dig into the follow topics in this episode: - What is decentralized identity? - Decentralized identity solutions and use cases in the real world - DiD projects and specs developers are building no...

The latest episode of Block Stars features David Schwartz and Antony Welfare—Senior Advisor at Ripple—to discuss the opportunity for DLT technology to support a CBDC system, global adoption and more.

In the newest episode of Block Stars, Ripple CTO David Schwartz sits down with John Kraski, Director of Strategic Partnerships at NFT Thought Leaders. The two discuss the current state of NFTs, the communities involved in the space and look ahead at the evolution of this technology.

In the latest episode of Block Stars, Ripple CTO David Schwartz talks to Daniel Vogel, CEO and Co-Founder of Mexico’s leading crypto exchange, Bitso. You'll  hear from Daniel on the state of crypto in Latin America, how Bitso almost became a video games payments specialist and more.

In the latest episode, David talks with serial entrepreneur Sid John Leopold about the environmental impact of blockchain technology and what it means for the future of money. “Currencies are just a tool that we use to trade,” explains Sid. “We're going to use 'money 2.0' if it works better. The environment is the factor that affects us all. We don't want those tools to…drastic...

The latest episode of Block Stars is the conclusion of current Ripple CTO David Schwartz’s two-part conversation with former Ripple CTO, Stefan Thomas. Listen to part two of David and Stefan’s conversation on episode 10 of Block Stars for more on how and why Stefan developed ILP and to discover the critical piece of advice that Ripple’s outgoing CTO passed on to his successor.

On the latest episode of Block Stars, David Schwartz—the creator of the XRP Ledger and current CTO of Ripple, sat down with Stefan Thomas, former CTO of Ripple and current CEO of Coil, to discuss the early days of blockchain, and their time working together on the XRP Ledger, Codius and Interledger Protocol (ILP). Most people don’t realize that prior to Ripple, David and Stefan both used to work o...

Ripple CTO David Schwartz continues to explore the wider world of blockchain and digital assets on the Block Stars podcast. In the latest episode, he talks with Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, Barry Eichengreen, about the current state of the global economy and where cryptocurrencies fit in a post-COVID climate.

In episode seven of the Block Stars podcast, Ripple CTO David Schwartz is joined by Ripple General Counsel, Stu Alderoty to discuss the current state of global cryptocurrency regulation.   David probably didn’t expect Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer to reference Beanie Babies during their conversation, but the often-valuable stuffed toys are a great analogy for why not every digital asset is a securi...

In the latest episode of the all-things-crypto podcast Block Stars, Ripple CTO David Schwarz talks to BRD CEO Adam Traidman. BRD was the very first crypto wallet released on Apple’s App Store back in 2014, so Adam is used to explaining digital wallets to the uninitiated. He compares them to their physical equivalent, which was how we used to hold and control all our money. Like the wallet in your...

Ripple's VP, Head of Global Institutional Markets Breanne Madigan discusses the future of institutional investment in digital assets, including why security token offerings may be the key entry point for traditional finance and whether we’ll eventually tokenize everything from real estate to racehorses.

In the latest episode of Block Stars, Ripple CTO David Schwartz talks to the founders of Keyless, a deep-tech cybersecurity company whose innovative solutions in authentication and digital identity could have a big impact on the cryptocurrency experience.

Binance. US CEO Catherine Coley's mission is to educate people on using cryptocurrencies to improve their everyday lives. It’s a goal that becomes increasingly relevant when events shine a brighter spotlight on the world of digital assets, whether that’s governments printing more fiat currencies in response to Covid-19 or the upcoming Bitcoin halving.