A 1:1 NFT was recently created on the XRP Ledger by an artist known as Dale Forward. This digital artwork featured on XRP Café depicts what it feels like to pet a dog. As the artist himself puts it, “It’s like love is bubbling up between you and the dog.”
While the piece itself is sound, what caught my attention more was how quickly this 1/1 item sold and who ended up buying it.
Thanks to the popularity of social networks, less than two hours later, Ripple CTO David Schwartz, one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, announced that he had acquired an NFT titled Pats.
I made this 1/1 with @xrpcafe about the feeling of petting a dog. May love grow between you and your dog. pic.twitter.com/4GLKkVLSfj
— Dale (@dfart2287) October 10, 2025
Schwartz is no stranger to the digital art space, particularly the XRPL ecosystem. An address that appears to belong to him (rHzWtXTBrArrGoLDixQAgcSD2dBisM19fF) currently holds 146 NFTs from 117 collections, valued at 64,265 XRP, or approximately $190,000 at current rates.
His wallet history frequently reveals bids for niche series that never received widespread attention but still represent the early stages of XRPL art culture.
14-month collection moratorium ended
For this latest purchase, Schwartz bought Pat for 30XRP (approximately $90 at the time), but its value could now be much higher as part of the Ripple CTO’s collection.
Notably, this is his first XRP NFT acquisition since August 2023, when he purchased Space Mermaid #335 for 120 XRP. Interestingly, even though XRP is more expensive, the dollar value of the previous purchase was only $72.
who knows? Perhaps Schwartz’s renewed interest in NFTs could be a sign of sorts that the once-booming segment of cryptocurrencies is on the verge of a resurgence. Or maybe it was just a temporary effort to support fellow XRP enthusiasts.