Blockchain payments company Ripple made a multibillion-dollar move to acquire stablecoin issuer Circle, but was turned down. According to Bloomberg reports released on April 30, Ripple bid between $4 billion and $5 billion in an attempted takeover of Circle.
The stablecoin issuer rejected the offer. Circle reportedly considered the bid too low for the company’s value.
The rejection came less than 30 days after Circle filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. This timing suggests Circle may be focused on its public market strategy rather than acquisition offers.
Ripple has not yet decided whether to make another bid for Circle. The company appears to be weighing its options following the initial rejection.
Stablecoins have become a key battleground in the cryptocurrency sector. Circle’s USDC currently holds a market cap of approximately $62 billion.
This makes USDC the second-largest stablecoin globally. It trails only Tether’s USDT and ranks as the seventh-largest cryptocurrency overall by market capitalization.
Ripple has been actively expanding its portfolio through acquisitions. The company recently purchased prime brokerage firm Hidden Road for approximately $1.2 billion in April.
This acquisition was intended to help scale activity for XRP and the XRP Ledger. It represented one of the largest deals in cryptocurrency industry history.
Ripple entered the stablecoin market last year with its own offering. The company launched Ripple USD (RLUSD), which has already reached a market cap exceeding $300 million.
The attempted Circle acquisition appears to align with Ripple’s broader growth strategy. Ripple President Monica Long recently stated that the company was in an “acquisitive” position rather than seeking to go public itself.
Ripple reportedly had an $11 billion valuation in 2024. However, CEO Brad Garlinghouse called this estimate “outdated” as of January, suggesting the company’s value may be higher.
Circle has its own history with acquisitions. The company purchased cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex for $400 million in 2018.
That deal ultimately resulted in a $156 billion loss for Circle. Poloniex later spun out of Circle in late 2019 during a company restructuring.
The blockchain payments firm has recently made progress in resolving its legal challenges. In August 2024, a court found Ripple liable for $125 million in a case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that began in 2020.
Garlinghouse announced in March that the SEC planned to drop its appeal against the firm. Ripple later stated it would pay a net $50 million for the lower court judgment.
These legal developments followed meetings between Ripple executives and U.S. President Donald Trump. The blockchain firm contributed $5 million to Trump’s inauguration fund after his election victory.
Both Garlinghouse and Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, attended inauguration events as official guests on January 20, 2025.
Neither Circle nor Ripple have officially commented on the reported acquisition attempt. Circle remains focused on its IPO plans and has declined to comment on what it calls “market rumors.”
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