Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse firmly denied reports that the company attempted to acquire USDC issuer Circle for as much as $5 billion.
With this stance, the crypto executive has dispelled weeks of speculation about a potential stablecoin industry shake-up.
Ripple CEO Shuts Down Acquisition Rumors Amid Stablecoin Expansion
Speaking on stage at the XRP Las Vegas event with Georgetown Law professor Chris Brummer, Garlinghouse addressed the rumors head-on.
“…the company [Ripple] never pursued an acquisition of fellow stablecoin issuer Circle,” he said, according to the host of the Crypto America podcast, Eleanor Terrett.
Brummer, who moderated the session, revealed key details about Garlinghouse’s statement in a post on X (Twitter).
“Brad was unequivocal that Ripple didn’t pursue an acquisition of Circle,” Brummer noted.
While one attendee suggested Garlinghouse might have only denied a $10 billion bid, Brummer clarified in a measured tone but articulated that Garlinghouse never considered an acquisition.
“Perhaps Ripple floated an offer at another price point. Perhaps! Whatever the case, his main point was clear: he wasn’t considering any acquisition,” Brummer articulated.
That clarification challenges a string of reports that surfaced over the past month. BeInCrypto reported on May 2, citing claims, without proof, that Ripple had made a $20 billion offer to acquire Circle. Another publication also noted that Circle had rejected the acquisition because it was too low.
The rumors gained traction amid Ripple’s push into stablecoins. In December, Ripple Labs secured approval from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for its RLUSD stablecoin.
RLUSD, a US dollar-backed stablecoin, is designed to run natively on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum.
Some analysts speculated that acquiring Circle would allow Ripple to immediately dominate the stablecoin market, given Circle’s existing infrastructure and USDC’s widespread use.
“Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road hints at deeper ambitions,” Brummer added in his summary.
Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin As A Foundational Layer For Tokenized Finance
The Georgetown Law professor also noted that RLUSD is being positioned as on-ledger collateral. This suggests Ripple’s stablecoin is intended as a foundational layer for tokenized finance rather than a direct USDC competitor.
“Ripple is positioning it [RLUSD] as on-ledger collateral, with transactions to be memorialized on the XRP Ledger,” Brummer added.
Meanwhile, Circle has charted a separate path. A week ago, the company officially filed for an IPO (initial public offering) with the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). The move reinforces the stablecoin issuer’s commitment to regulatory transparency and long-term independence.
Industry observers previously warned that a Ripple–Circle merger could sideline XRP. Specifically, the concern was that the merger would replace it with USDC as the default liquidity token. However, Garlinghouse’s remarks appear to put that scenario to rest.
Following this news, the XRP price has been up by nearly 3% in the last 24 hours and is trading for $2.25 as of this writing. Data on CoinGecko indicates that XRP is the best-performing asset among the top 18 crypto assets.
XRP Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto
At XRP Las Vegas, Garlinghouse also criticized infighting within the crypto sector, describing Ripple’s recent donation of the “Satoshi skull” as “a diplomatic gesture.”
“I walked away with a sense that Ripple isn’t chasing a world where crypto replaces TradFi… [but] one where the two are hybridized,” Brummer concluded, reflecting on the tone of the conversation.
