‘I Suspect That’s Really Him;’ David Schwartz Reveals Arthur Britto’s Identity

Ripple CTO David Schwartz has hinted at the possible identity of Arthur Britto, the elusive co-creator of the XRP Ledger, who broke his silence after 14 years. Arthur Britto’s cryptic post on X sparked speculation, with users pointing to a potential connection between him and the enigmatic XRP wallet ‘X.23’, prompting a response from Schwartz.

Who is Arthur Britto? David Schwartz Weighs In

As many wonder about Arthur Britto’s true identity and the intention behind his return, a new wave of speculation arises. An X user raised concerns over the possible link between Britto and a cryptic XRP wallet, “X.23.” This development has caught the attention of Ripple CTO David Schawrtz, who stated in an X post, “I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that’s really him given the creation date and the PayString.”

As per account details shared by the X user, the XRP wallet is nicknamed as X.23 with the account name “ahbritto.” It has a current balance of 12,429.77 XRP, with 2.20 XRP reserved and 12,427.57 XRP available for use. The wallet’s PayString is ahbritto$bithomp.com, which resembles Arthur Britto, as Schwartz underscores.

Notably, wallet X.23 was activated on January 1, 2013, and initially held a genesis balance of 49,999.99 XRP. This creation date also coincides with Britto’s long digital silence. Another X user identified a transaction sent to this wallet with the memo ‘THEZZY_SIGNAL:0001’ just days before Arthur Britto’s post on X. This sparks speculation about whether it’s more than just a coincidence.  These intriguing connections between the wallet’s activity and Britto’s post have sparked intense speculation about the co-founder’s true identity.

Ripple CTO Decodes the Mystery Behind Britto’s Return

On June 24, Arthur Britto, the mysterious co-founder of the XRP Ledger, made a surprise return to public view with his first social media post since 2011. He shared a message—an emoji of a face without a mouth. Though this emoji apparently signifies speechlessness, the interpretation could vary. It is noteworthy that Britto’s return coincides with the XRP Ledger’s Software Update 2.5.0.

While this sudden appearance after a long-term silence evoked widespread speculations of a possible hack, David Schwartz confirmed that the account is legitimate. He wrote on X, “I can confirm this was not a hack or compromise.”

Although Arthur Britto is a co-founder of the XRP Ledger, alongside David Schwartz and Jed McCaleb, he is often referred to as the ‘ghost’ in the crypto space due to his mysterious identity. For years, he has remained silent, avoiding interviews and public statements.

Amid increasing speculations, Schwartz proposed a humorous theory behind Arthur Britto’s mysterious post. He suggested that Britto might have set up a “deadman switch” years ago. As per this hypothesis, if Britto didn’t post on X for 15 years, the switch would transfer control of his XRP Ledger accounts to Schwartz. The Ripple CTO playfully implied that Britto was forced to make a public post to disable the switch, having apparently forgotten how to turn it off.