Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse firmly denied reports that the company was trying to acquire Circle, the USDC issuer, for up to $5 billion.
With this stance, the cryptocurrency executive dispelled weeks of speculation about potential changes in the stablecoin industry.
Ripple CEO Dismisses Acquisition Rumor... Stablecoin Expansion
Garlinghouse took the stage at the XRP Las Vegas event alongside Georgetown Law Professor Chris Brummer to directly address the rumors.
"...the company has never attempted to acquire [Ripple's] fellow stablecoin issuer Circle," he said, according to Crypto America podcast host Eleanor Terrett.
Brummer, who moderated the session, shared key details of Garlinghouse's statement on X (Twitter).
"Brad clearly stated that Ripple did not attempt to acquire Circle," Brummer mentioned.
A heart felt thank you from @bgarlinghouse to the $XRP Family. 🫶🏼#xrplasvegas2025 https://t.co/DJPkV6sWbi pic.twitter.com/I4GB1MyAn4
— Subjective Views (@subjectiveviews) May 31, 2025
While one attendee suggested Garlinghouse might have only denied a $10 billion offer, Brummer cautiously explained that Garlinghouse was not considering the acquisition.
"Perhaps Ripple might have made an offer at a different price point. Perhaps! In any case, his main point was clear: he was not considering any acquisition," Brummer explained.
This clear statement challenges several reports circulating over the past month. BeInCrypto reported on May 2nd, without evidence, that Ripple had made a $20 billion offer to acquire Circle. Other publications also mentioned that Circle rejected the offer as too low.
These rumors spread amid Ripple's entry into stablecoins. In December, Ripple Labs received approval from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for the RLUSD stablecoin.
RLUSD is a stablecoin backed by US dollars, designed to operate natively on XRP Ledger and Ethereum.
Some analysts speculated that acquiring Circle would allow Ripple to immediately dominate the stablecoin market, considering Circle's existing infrastructure and USDC's widespread use.
"Ripple's hidden road acquisition implies deeper ambitions," Brummer added in his summary.
Ripple's RLUSD Stablecoin: Foundation of Tokenized Finance
The Georgetown Law professor also mentioned that RLUSD is establishing itself as on-ledger collateral, suggesting that Ripple's stablecoin is intended more as a foundational layer of tokenized finance rather than a direct USDC competitor.
"Ripple is establishing [RLUSD] as on-ledger collateral, and transactions will be recorded on the XRP Ledger," Brummer added.
Meanwhile, Circle has charted its own path. A week ago, the company officially filed an IPO (Initial Public Offering) with the US SEC. This move reinforces the stablecoin issuer's regulatory transparency and long-term independence.
Industry observers had previously warned that a Ripple-Circle merger could marginalize XRP, particularly concerns that it might replace USDC as the primary liquidity token. However, Garlinghouse's statements seem to put that scenario to rest.
Following this news, the XRP price rose nearly 3% in the past 24 hours and is currently trading at $2.25. According to CoinGecko data, XRP is the best-performing asset among the top 18 cryptocurrency assets.
At XRP Las Vegas, Garlinghouse criticized internal conflicts within the cryptocurrency sector and described Ripple's recent "Satoshi skull" donation as "a kind of diplomatic gesture".
"I got the feeling that Ripple is not pursuing a world that replaces traditional finance... [but] pursuing a world where two things are mixed," Brummer concluded, reflecting the conversation's tone.
