Explore every episode of the podcast 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 payments, stablecoin regulation, and Europe’s growing role in digital finance.

What to expect:
 • Why the euro matters onchain — and what EURØP means for Europe’s competitiveness
 • How Schuman Financial is bridging traditional finance and DeFi through compliant innovation
 • XRPL’s unique role in enabling institutional-grade stablecoins with speed, low cost, and interoperability
 • How stablecoins like EURØP and RLUSD are redefining cross-border payments and tokenized assets
 • What’s next for Europe’s digital economy under MiCA regulation

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 into the biggest trends shaping the next phase of blockchain innovation.

What to expect:

• Will 2025 be the tipping point for real-world asset tokenization?
  
  
• How programmable will public blockchains get—and why does it matter?
  
  
• Why corporate treasuries are eyeing crypto beyond just Bitcoin
  
  
• The importance of transparency, liquidity, and compliance in the next wave of tokenization
  
  

Tune in to explore what lays ahead in 2025!

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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 decentralized applications (dApps). This episode focuses on new opportunities, the challenges of combining these technologies, and what’s next for innovation.

What to expect:

• AI’s Role in Blockchain Development
  
  
• Data Trust, Privacy & Security
  
  
• Decentralized Collaboration
  
  
• AI-Driven Innovation
  
  
• The Future of Blockchain with AI Integration
  
  

Tune in to understand how AI and blockchain are coming together to redefine what’s possible in decentralized finance and beyond!

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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 the Stage: Experience the energy of a live recording as David and Axelar’s CTO take the stage at this exclusive blockchain event.
  
  
• Interoperability Insights: Learn why cross-chain communication is essential for the future of blockchain and how Axelar’s technology is paving the way for greater connectivity.
  
  
• Bridging the XRPL and EVM Sidechain: Discover how Axelar’s bridge integrates with the XRPL EVM Sidechain, unlocking new possibilities for decentralized finance (DeFi) and real-world asset tokenization.
  
  
• Future of Multi-Chain: Hear Axelar’s vision for the future of blockchain applications and how their General Message Passing (GMP) protocol is enabling the next generation of cross-chain smart contracts.

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 the details behind RLUSD and its anticipated impact on the XRPL ecosystem.
- Dive into the technical aspects of RLUSD, and how it can help create more liquidity on the DEX.
- Understand the potential implications for businesses, developers, and users within the XRPL community and beyond.
- Gain insights into how Ripple plans to integrate this stablecoin into the broader financial ecosystem and what the future holds.

Don’t miss this deep dive into the future of blockchain technology and the exciting developments on the XRP Ledger.

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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 captivating discussion with two trailblazing guests:

🌟Prasanth Kalangi - CEO & Founder of Zoniqx, a highly accomplished tech entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience in deep tech. He holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Bremen, Germany. Throughout his career, he has worked with several Fortune 100 companies, including Barclays, EY, BCG, and Toyota, serving in roles such as Solutions Architect and Chief Technology Officer.

🌟Prithvish Baidya – Lead Engineer at Zoniqx, known for his work on advanced decentralized solutions and co-author of the ERC7518 standard for globally compliant security token transfer.

What to Expect
Anticipation and Insights: Hear what our guests are most excited about at XRP Ledger Apex 2024 and get a sneak peek into their upcoming presentations.
Collaboration and Innovation: Discover how Apex fosters a collaborative environment that accelerates innovation within the XRPL community.
Building the Future: Dive deep into the groundbreaking projects from Zoniqx and Meld Gold, and learn how they are contributing to the evolution of the XRPL ecosystem.
The Apex Experience: Get valuable advice on how to make the most out of your experience at XRP Ledger Apex 2024.

Join us as we navigate the future of blockchain and crypto, unlocking new opportunities and forging meaningful connections. Don't miss this insightful conversation that sets the stage for XRP Ledger Apex 2024, taking place in Amsterdam from June 11-13.

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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 smart contracts.
- Delve into the intricacies of blockchain security, discussing the latest advancements, challenges, and strategies for safeguarding digital assets.
- Gain valuable predictions and forecasts for the future of blockchain security, including emerging threats, regulatory trends, technological innovations. 

Join us for an enlightening discussion as we navigate the changing landscape of blockchain security and empower users to protect themselves in the digital age.

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 lending, increasing security, and seamlessly merging traditional finance with blockchain.
- Decentralized Identity (DID): Dive into the detail of Decentralized Identity (DID) and the impact it could be set to have on individual privacy and security. 

The duo discuss groundbreaking predictions including the convergence of AI and blockchain, RWA tokenization, decentralized identity, interoperability and the transformative impact of stablecoins. 

Join us for a speculative deep dive as we consider what is around the corner in what promises to be an exciting year for the industry!

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, emphasizing its direct connection to the XRP Ledger through the XRPL Bridge, facilitating seamless transactions and enhancing liquidity.
- A guide on how you can get started with the XRP Ledger EVM Sidechain, covering account setup, wallet connections and submitting a transaction.


Join us for a deep dive into the future of programmability in a multichain world and subscribe now to keep up to date with the very latest on the XRP Ledger.

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 open source and fully decentralized layer 1 blockchain powered by a global developer community.

But establishing XRP's status in the US was an arduous journey. With the lawsuit having reached an emphatic conclusion, this episode of Block Stars with David Schwartz features a very special guest, Ripple's Chief Legal Officer, Stu Alderoty, who sat down to discuss:

• The long road to legal clarity for XRP and what it means for the broader crypto and blockchain community
• Opportunities that have emerged in light of the ruling such as institutional adoption of blockchain solutions for finance, tokenization of real world assets (RWAs), Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and stablecoin issuers on the XRP Ledger, to name just a few
• The impact of the ruling on blockchain developers, financial institutions, businesses and the digital asset ecosystem

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 communities on decentralization
• The different avenues and resources available for blockchain developers of all levels
• What the future holds for web3 developers and how those communities can evolve alongside the technology 

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 Block Stars with David Schwartz features special guest speakers from $HOME, Thallo and Ripple to unpack and conceptualize:

- Examples of tokenized RWAs and their market opportunity
- The applications, use cases, and protocol standards for tokenized RWAs
- The technology's uses for developers, end users, and businesses

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 now across blockchains
- What the future holds for DiD and other crypto-enabled technologies

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…drastically make our lives worse off in the future."

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 on Bitcoin. Stefan helped create BitcoinJS, which is a JavaScript implementation of the Bitcoin blockchain. David tinkered around with Bitcoin Core, as a C++ developer with a lot of experience using applied cryptography to build distributed systems, and helped the early core contributors solve some problems via the Bitcoin forum.

Both were inspired by the decentralized nature of the technology, but also recognized some issues early on.

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 security. 

Listen to the latest Block Stars podcast to hear more from Stu about the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remittances rule that recognizes that blockchain solutions can benefit consumers and why a 1940s Florida orange grove can no longer hold back the country’s blockchain and digital asset industry.

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 pocket, a consumer can receive money into a digital wallet and use it to send money to others and pay for services. But it also comes with additional control and security.

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.  

AIKON CEO Marc Blinder discusses the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies and why he believes that unsustainable mining practices are a barrier for the more widespread adoption of digital assets. 

Ripple Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen looks back at the birth of digital assets and explains why early e-currencies like Beenz and Second Life’s Linden Dollars failed to take off and how Satoshi Nakamoto’s seminal white paper on Bitcoin was perfectly timed.

Block Stars is a Ripple-produced podcast featuring Ripple CTO David Schwartz as host that shines the spotlight on some of today’s most innovative and impactful thinkers in blockchain from around the world. David shares a sneak peek of topics and guests joining Block Stars, launching May 5.