Ripple’s Circle Acquisition Would Be ‘Disastrous’ for Crypto, Warns MetaLeX’s Shapiro
The post Ripple’s Circle Acquisition Would Be ‘Disastrous’ for Crypto, Warns MetaLeX’s Shapiro appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
What’s another day in crypto without some alarm bells?
As you know, Ripple and Coinbase are now locked in a multi-billion dollar bidding war to acquire Circle – the powerhouse behind USDC. The reported price tag is as high as $11 billion. This one could shake the foundation of the stablecoin market.
If Ripple wins, it wouldn’t just gain control of a major dollar-backed asset but could instantly become one of the most dominant forces in the entire ecosystem. And not everyone’s okay with that.
Critics are already throwing up antitrust red flags and warning of potential chaos if the deal goes through.
Why does this acquisition matter so much? Here’s the buzz.
A Disaster Is Brewing
Gabriel Shapiro, founder of MetaLeX Labs, did not hold back when weighing in on the possible Ripple-Circle deal.
“Making Ripple the largest asset issuer on every blockchain would obviously be disastrous and anticompetitive,” he warned, raising serious antitrust alarms.
Shapiro believes that if the acquisition goes through, it won’t sail past regulators.
“If a definitive agreement is signed, we will be at the DoJ’s and FTC’s doorstep, citing Ripple’s history of campaigns against Bitcoin and Ethereum…”
He also pointed to Ripple’s past behavior, calling out how the firm previously used its influence to hurt competitors – like when Chris Larsen teamed up with Greenpeace in 2022 to target Bitcoin mining. According to Shapiro, Circle needs to consider the Revlon doctrine, which requires companies to act in shareholders’ best interests – including weighing antitrust risk.
Oof, a well-researched lash out!
Rejected Offers, XRP Leverage & a Heated Bidding War
Reports suggest Ripple had initially offered around $4-$5 billion to acquire Circle earlier this year – but was turned down. $BTC
