Ripple Rejected Circle's Offer to Acquire the Prominent Stablecoin Issuer, Bloomberg Reports

Ripple, which is the largest corporate holder of the XRP crypto coin and oversees the development of the XRP Ledger blockchain, has yet to decide

Ripple, the largest corporate holder of the XRP crypto coin and the firm that oversees the development of the XRP Ledger blockchain, has yet to decide on whether it should make another offer to acquire the prominent stablecoin issuer Circle, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report comes after the U.S. president promised to make the country the global crypto hub.

Circle, which is best recognized as the issuer of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, has been working on an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. Ripple's offer was supposedly made less than a month after Circle applied for an IPO.

"We do not comment on market rumors," a Circle spokesperson said in a statement regarding the matter.

Ripple already has its own stablecoin, the RLUSD, so it is unclear why it is attempting to acquire a stablecoin issuer.

As soon as news of the supposed takeover rejection spread, XRP prices started to dwindle.

Data from CoinGecko showed that the popular cryptocurrency is down nearly 2% in the day. The digital asset has been struggling to reach $3 again in recent times amid a broader downturn in the crypto market.

Still, the XRP community remains steadfast and have been actively using the coin, as the latest data showed that trading volumes in the last 24 hours passed $3 billion.

The reported bid to acquire Circle comes as Ripple has been cleaning up on its legal woes in the U.S., where President Donald Trump promised he will make the country the global crypto hub.

In recent years, Ripple has made some acquisitions, and the Circle offer may be part of its greater plans to expand its fintech and blockchain business.

Earlier in 2023, Ripple acquired Swiss digital asset custodian Metaco for $250 million to expand its custodial, issuance, and settlements on tokenized assets.

Later that year, the blockchain and fintech firm acquired Nevada-based chartered trust company Fortress Trust but details about the acquisition's financial terms were not revealed. Fortress Trust has a specialty in crypto and Web3.

Early last year, Ripple said it has closed its acquisition deal of enterprise-grade digital assets platform Standard Custody & Trust Company, a regulated entity.

Finally, just last month, Ripple agreed to acquire prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion in one of the largest deals in the crypto space.

It remains to be seen what Ripple plans if it completes an acquisition of a stablecoin issuer and whether Circle will consider a subsequent, much higher takeover offer.