According to Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, blockchain payment company Ripple had proposed to acquire the stablecoin issuer Circle for a price between $4 billion and $5 billion. However, this acquisition proposal was rejected by Circle on the grounds that the offer was “too low.” The report also noted that Ripple remains interested in acquiring Circle even now.
Circle is the issuer of the world’s second-largest dollar stablecoin, USDC, second only to the market leader Tether (USDT). Ripple, on the other hand, launched its own dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, earlier this year, clearly aiming to extend its reach into the stablecoin market.
As the news of the acquisition emerged, Circle was preparing to advance its initial public offering (IPO) plan.
According to previous reports from Zombit, the company is seeking to go public, and the IPO valuation appears to be $5 billion, although this valuation has faced strong skepticism from some members of the community. Dragonfly Capital partner Omar Kanji previously stated on social media that, based on the data in the documents, there was nothing impressive, and it was unclear how Circle’s IPO could be priced at a $5 billion valuation. The overall feeling seems to be that Circle intends to seize the last opportunity to raise funds and secure liquidity before stronger competitors enter the market.
As for the rumors surrounding the acquisition, Circle has not yet made an official response; meanwhile, a Ripple spokesperson quoted CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s earlier comments to Bloomberg, indicating that the company may consider acquiring other blockchain infrastructure companies in the future, but did not specifically comment on the Circle case.
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