#StablecoinPayments In the latest episode of “Crypto Billionaires Trying to Eat Each Other,” Ripple, the company best known for XRP and a never-ending lawsuit with the SEC, decided it fancied owning Circle, the folks behind USDC, the second-largest stablecoin. Ripple reportedly slid a modest $4–5 billion across the metaphorical table—and Circle, presumably sipping tea from a solid gold cup, declined with the polite corporate equivalent of a laugh.

Now, why would Circle say no to a few billion dollars? Oh, I don’t know—maybe because they’re gearing up for an IPO and their USDC is quietly ballooning to $62 billion in supply. That’s like trying to buy a gold mine using Monopoly money. Cute, but no dice.

And Ripple? They’re busy launching their own stablecoin, RLUSD, like someone who got rejected on a date and immediately said, “Fine, I’ll clone you.” No one’s saying the rivalry is petty… but let’s just say the stablecoin wars are starting to look like the Real Housewives of Fintech.