Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz Rejects Claims Stock, Prediction Markets Are Casinos

Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz pushed back on X against comparisons of stock and prediction markets to casinos, arguing the analogy misses a key economic divide. According to BeInCrypto, Schwartz said gambling mainly redistributes existing value among participants, while investing directs capital to productive use and can generate new value over time. He added that positive expected value in gambling or negative expected value in investing signals something is wrong with the system. Schwartz stepped back from daily operations at Ripple at the end of 2025 and became CTO Emeritus; he joined the debate on June 17, 2026.