Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Shuts Down Rumors of $5B Circle Takeover
Another day, another ’strategic acquisition’ rumor in crypto land—this time with a $5 billion price tag attached. Ripple’s top exec took a flamethrower to speculation about swallowing Circle whole, proving once again that not every boardroom fantasy makes it to the check-signing phase.
Wall Street analysts weep into their spreadsheets as the deal-that-wasn’t joins the graveyard of overpriced crypto M&A dreams. Meanwhile, stablecoin operators everywhere adjust their ’for sale’ signs with slightly less enthusiasm.
Rumored bid
Reports surfaced on April 30 that Ripple had offered between $4 billion and $5 billion for Circle, citing unnamed sources who said Circle rejected the price as too low and left open the possibility of future talks.
Circle has been preparing for an initial public offering since filing registration documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 1, and its leadership has not commented publicly on valuation or timing.
Garlinghouse’s statement in Las Vegas is the first direct rebuttal from Ripple’s senior management to the takeover rumor.
During the same session, Garlinghouse outlined plans to position Ripple’s upcoming RLUSD stablecoin as on-ledger collateral for transactions settled on the XRP Ledger.
Broader strategy
He framed RLUSD and the firm’s recent acquisition of prime-brokerage platform Hidden Road as steps toward building market infrastructure that links traditional finance with tokenized assets.
Garlinghouse said Ripple ison real-estate tokenization pilots and urged crypto companies to avoid public disputes that damage industry credibility, referencing Ripple’s donation of the “Satoshi skull” artifact as a gesture of inter-network diplomacy.
Garlinghouse also recounted past meetings with the SEC, describing differences in staff engagement during the agency’s long-running litigation against Ripple.
Brummer wrote that the comments highlighted the personal stakes involved in regulatory battles and the hybrid future Ripple envisions, where tokenized assets, stablecoins, and banks operate on interconnected rails.
