Ripple Chief Technology Officer Emeritus David Schwartz forcefully pushed back this week against a resurgent argument that blockchains collecting higher transaction fees are inherently stronger, calling the idea “truly bizarre” and defending the XRP Ledger’s low-cost design as a deliberate competitive advantage.

Schwartz’s comments, posted on X, responded to a user who revived a 2024 discussion thread that questioned whether XRP’s minimal fees signal weak demand rather than efficient design. The exchange reignited a long-running philosophical divide across the crypto industry over how to measure blockchain value—through fee generation or through accessibility and speed.

“Measuring a network’s value through expensive…