The leading Stablecoin Issuer Circle is denying potential sales to San Francisco-based Crypto Companies Ripple Labs or Coinbase.
A spokesman affiliated with the USDC Stablecoin publisher rebutted the claim in a recent statement issued to PYMNT.
This follows reports that the circle was in an informal debate for selling to Coinbase or Ripples. In particular, Fortune Report suggests that Circle is investigating sales at a $5 billion valuation.
Despite these reports, a circle spokesman highlighted plans to sell himself to another entity, including Coinbase and Ripple. According to them, the circle is committed to its long-term goals.
Circle IPO initiatives
The spokesman did not provide details on the circle’s long-term goals, but the company is considering plans to publish it through an IPO. The company first disclosed its IPO plan in December 2022, the year after Coinbase was released.
However, the Stablecoin publisher’s IPO plan stagnated, prompting them to restart its ambitions in January 2024. As of last month, Circle served as an underwriter for planned IPOs with investment banks side by side. Despite this move, there is no exact date yet for when the company will be published.
Ripple and Coinbase are engaged in a bid war for circles
Meanwhile, rumors about the circle’s potential sales began making rounds last month. At the time, Bloomberg reported that the circle rejected Ripple’s first offer, saying it was too low by around $4 billion to $5 billion.
Subsequent reports led Coinbase to race and win circles, launching a bid war with Ripple. According to angel investor Paul Baron, Ripple has an advantage in circle bidding, with proposals being between $9 billion and $11 billion.
Additionally, Fortune Report portrayed Ripple as having a strong balance sheet for a potential acquisition, suggesting that Ripple could complete the acquisition by paying in cash and XRP.
Coinbase is more advantageous than Ripple
Ripple has financial prowess to complete the acquisition, but there are sources familiar with issues that have revealed that Coinbase’s existing relationship with Circle could affect its decision to acquire USDC issuers.
In 2018, Circle and Coinbase jointly launched the Center Consortium Crypto Project and issued the USDC Stablecoin. Through this venture, Coinbase has acquired minority stakes in Circle, sharing profits generated from short-term securities and cash-backed USDC.
At this time, circles are prohibited from being involved in Coinbase’s partnerships that risk USDC revenues. Based on previous agreements, Coinbase must give Circle a green light before entering into such a partnership.
With this arrangement in place, Coinbase is expected to get a Circle if it considers a transaction to be easy to do. However, Circle is currently officially refuting potential sales claims against Coinbase or Ripple.