David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, recently admitted to faking a live Q&A with Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. It turns out the whole thing was a bit of a…well, a sham.
The Great AMA Hoax
Schwartz confessed on X (formerly Twitter) that technical issues and a lack of fan interest in the whole band (everyone just wanted Ozzy!) led him down a path of deception. During his time at WebMaster, the planned live AMA went sideways. Instead of a real conversation, Schwartz used pre-written questions and answers, fed through old ConferenceRoom software.
The plan was for moderators to relay fan questions by phone and transcribe the band’s answers. But when nobody asked about Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, or Bill Ward, Schwartz improvised. He admits to slipping in canned questions for each band member and essentially making up Ozzy’s answers based on what little he could hear through a terrible connection. He even censored Ozzy’s colorful language (lots of “C-words,” apparently!). Only two or three genuine fan questions ever made it through. At one point, he even mixed what he could hear with answers provided by the band’s manager!
Schwartz later admitted feeling bad about the whole thing, saying it wasn’t the authentic experience he’d hoped for.
Censorship and Poor Audio
The poor audio quality made it nearly impossible to understand Ozzy, especially his famous profanity. Schwartz typed out the “C-word” repeatedly but scrubbed it later at his bosses’ request to keep things family-friendly. Ironically, it was one of the few words he could clearly hear!
The whole experience left him disillusioned about the challenges of running a smooth online live event.
Ozzy’s Passing and Crypto Mania
This confession came just days after Ozzy Osbourne’s death at age 76. Following his passing, fans shared memories, and developers created meme coins in his honor. One token, “The Mad Man” (OZZY), saw a massive price surge, rocketing over 16,000% before investors got worried about potential scams and a possible market crash.
Ripple and the SEC Settlement
Meanwhile, Ripple has been busy with its own drama. The company recently dropped its appeal against the SEC settlement, ending a nearly five-year legal battle over whether XRP sales were securities transactions. This means Ripple will pay the $125 million penalty, but at least the fight is finally over.