Ripple Eyes $5B Acquisition of Circle—But There’s a Catch

Ripple’s audacious play to swallow Circle—the powerhouse behind USDC—could reshape crypto’s stablecoin landscape overnight. Here’s why regulators might spoil the party.

The $5 Billion Gambit

XRP’s parent company is reportedly in late-stage talks to acquire Circle, aiming to dominate dollar-pegged crypto liquidity. A deal this size would make even Wall Street’s merger-happy bankers blush—if they weren’t busy shorting crypto anyway.

Regulatory Landmines Ahead

Circle’s USDC sits at the heart of DeFi’s plumbing. Watch for SEC chair Gary Gensler to suddenly remember he ‘cares about investor protection’ the second this deal inks.

Stablecoin Wars Escalate

Tether’s dominance faces its first real threat. Ripple’s global corridors plus Circle’s compliance could create an unstoppable fiat-to-crypto juggernaut—assuming the suits don’t nuke it first.

Ripple has reportedly offered between $4 billion and $5 billion for the company Circle. Circle turned down the offer because the price was too low. Circle is the company behind the stablecoin USDC. Ripple, moreover, is still interested in acquiring the stablecoin company, yet hasn’t released any details. Most of the information about the negotiations is being kept private. A stablecoin is a token with a one-to-one relation to a real-world asset, such as the US Dollar or the Gold price. Both Ripple and Circle have issued stablecoins.

Circle is the second-largest issuer of a stablecoin, trailing only Tether, with a market capitalization of around $61 billion. Ripple, however, has a much lower market cap of around $316 million, primarily due to its stablecoin, RLUSD. However, Ripple’s stablecoin only debuted in 2024, making its market cap a substantial achievement in only a matter of months. If Ripple acquired Circle, it would rise automatically in the rankings of stablecoins.

Circle, meanwhile, has been planning an IPO to increase the value of its company, thus making it unlikely that Circle would accept Ripple’s offer at this early date. However, the IPO valuation estimates Circle’s value at around $4 billion to $6 billion. The Circle spokesperson said the company still wants to proceed with the IPO. The price of RLUSD, meanwhile, has remained steady with no market reactions to the news. Circle is not commenting on the possible acquisition talks.

RLUSD was released on Ethereum and Ripple blockchains. The rise in market cap for the stablecoin is impressive, starting at $72 million at the start of the year and now at around $316 million. In comparison, USDC is operating on around 19 different blockchains. Circle is planning an IPO soon, which would give investors more opportunities to invest in the crypto company. Kraken, the crypto exchange, is also planning an IPO. The regulatory environment in the United States has changed dramatically in recent months, allowing many crypto companies to expand without fear of government regulatory reprisals. 

Crypto legislation in the United States has opened the way for emerging crypto companies, like Circle, to expand their businesses. Ripple is one of these businesses that wishes to take advantage of the changing regulatory climate and develop as much as possible before a new government changes the rules again. In October, Stripe acquired Bridge for $1.1 billion, the largest acquisition in crypto history to date.