$USDC $USDC In a bold move, Ripple Labs offered between $4-5 billion to acquire Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, but Circle rejected it as too low. USDC, with a market capitalization of $62 billion, is the second-largest stablecoin, backed by companies like BlackRock. Ripple, which is expanding its stablecoin RLUSD, seeks to compete in the $230 billion stablecoin market. Meanwhile, Circle partnered with Onafriq to reduce cross-border payment costs of $5 billion in Africa using USDC. Circle also obtained regulatory approval from Abu Dhabi, boosting its expansion in the Middle East. Despite Tether's dominance, USDC's growth signals a shift in the dynamics of cryptocurrencies.web:0,2,6,9,15,18