Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently updated his X profile image, which sparked attention in the XRP community. The reason is that the Ripple's CTO profile picture was inspired by XRP Ledger-based Phoenix-themed meme coin, PHNIX.
The profile image, an avatar, shows the Ripple CTO wearing a black hat and sunglasses, with the XRP logo inscribed with a phoenix bird, which also wears similar XRP-logo-inscribed sunglasses on his shoulder.
The profile picture update no doubt caught the attention of the XRP community, which posted their reaction on X, with some interpreting the phoenix on the profile picture as a sign.
Vet, an XRP Ledger, dUNL validator tweeted his reaction on X: "David changes his pfp to an honorary one he won by a meme coin project.XRP holders: A phoenix. This is a sign."
> David changes his pfp to an honorary one he won by a meme coin project.
— Vet 🏴☠️ (@Vet_X0) September 8, 2025
XRP holders
> A phoenix. This is a sign.
👁️👄👁️
A phoenix is a legendary bird which, according to one version, lived 500 years, burned itself to ashes on a pyre and rose from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle.
This comes to mind as XRP gains renewed interest on the market after years of consolidation and dull trading activity contributed to by the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple, which is now concluded.
XRP gains interest on market
According to Coinbase's recent tweet, XRP ranked among the most searched assets on Coinbase within a period of 1,440 minutes.
Other coins include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin and World Liberty Financial. According to CoinGecko data, XRP is up 469% on a one-year basis. In terms of percentage gain, XRP surpasses that of major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum, which posted yearly returns of 107% and 91%, respectively.
At press time, XRP was trading up 3% in the last 24 hours to $2.99, extending its recovery from a Sept. 1 low of $2.69. XRP ranks as the third largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $177.97 billion.
