Crypto payments firm Ripple made a multi-billion-dollar offer to acquire USDC stablecoin issuer Circle
Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The offer was said to be in the range of $4 billion to $5 billion, but was reportedly rejected as being too low. At the start of April, Circle filed paperwork with the SEC to go public.
A Circle spokesperson told Bloomberg news that the company was “currently in a quiet period with the SEC,” meaning its ability to comment on corporate financial plans is restricted. Circle did not immediately respond to a request to comment from Decrypt.
A Ripple spokesperson directed Decrypt to a Bloomberg interview from March, in which Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the firm had become “more proactive in looking at acquisitions” and would consider “blockchain infrastructure companies” as potential takeover targets.
With stablecoin legislation being weighed on Capitol Hill, which would create clear rules for firms like Circle, experts say new entrants could enter the digital assets space. That includes Wall Street titans like Bank of America, as well as potentially thousands of tech firms.
Stablecoins are digital assets pegged to the price of a fiat currency, such as the U.S. dollar. They are often backed by a mix of assets like cash and U.S. Treasuries.
The stablecoin space is ripe for dealmaking with new rules on the horizon. In October, payments giant Stripe unveiled a $1.1 billion deal to acquire the stablecoin platform Bridge, representing one of the largest deals in the crypto industry’s history.
Ripple debuted its RLUSD stablecoin in December on Ethereum and XRP Ledger. The token’s market cap has quadrupled so far this year, rising to $317 million from $72 million, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko.
USDC is far larger and issued across 19 different blockchains. On Wednesday, the token’s market cap hovered close to an all-time high of $62.3 billion, according to CoinGecko.
Circle is among several crypto firms that reportedly plan to go public in the near future. Crypto exchange Kraken is also eyeing a public listing, a Kraken spokesperson recently confirmed to Decrypt.
Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.
Edited by Andrew Hayward