Key Takeaways
- Circle is considering a sale to Coinbase or Ripple while still pursuing an IPO.
- Ripple’s $4-5 billion offer for Circle was rejected as too low.
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Circle Internet Financial, the firm behind USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, is exploring a possible sale to Coinbase or Ripple, Fortune Crypto reported Monday, citing four banking and private equity executives familiar with the matter.
The discussions were described as informal takeover talks, with sources indicating that Circle is seeking a valuation of at least $5 billion.
Bloomberg reported last month that Ripple had offered up to $5 billion to acquire Circle, but the bid was rejected as undervalued.
Ripple’s proposed deal likely included a major portion of the payment in XRP tokens. While nominally valued at market rates, XRP-based payments may be heavily discounted by a potential seller like Circle, which is preparing for a traditional IPO. As a result, the effective value of Ripple’s offer may have fallen below Circle’s minimum threshold.
Circle may have set its firm floor at $5 billion, leaving little room for compromise. It’s possible Ripple’s bid was lower than its stated $4–5 billion range or had terms that made it less attractive.
Even if Ripple matched the price, Circle might prefer a sale to Coinbase, given their deep operational and commercial ties, including shared USDC revenue and governance history.
Coinbase recently reached a $2.9 billion deal to acquire Deribit. The move is expected to strengthen the firm’s position in the crypto options market.
In a statement to Bloomberg following the landmark deal, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that the company is still open to further acquisitions.
Armstrong said Coinbase is consistently on the lookout for M&A opportunities, particularly with like-minded international firms that could accelerate its product development and growth.
When asked if Circle might be considered, Armstrong neither confirmed nor denied, stating there was “nothing to announce” at the time.
“If Coinbase wanted to buy them, Circle would sell in a heartbeat,” one of the sources told Fortune Crypto.
It’s unclear how Ripple’s offer was structured or whether strategic considerations played a role in Circle’s decision to turn it down despite the headline valuation. Despite the setback, Ripple is reportedly still considering an acquisition.
Circle remains committed to its IPO plan. Earlier in April, the company filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the SEC.
However, the company later contemplated delaying its IPO due to macroeconomic uncertainty caused by recent US trade policies, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Klarna had planned to raise about $1 billion at a valuation near $15 billion on the NYSE but paused its IPO roadshow amid uncertainty. StubHub also postponed its IPO roadshow scheduled for the same period for similar reasons.
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