Circle Denies Report It’s Considering Potential Sale
Stablecoin issuer Circle denied a Monday (May 19) media report that it was in informal talks about a potential sale to Coinbase Global or Ripple while still pursuing the initial public offering (IPO) it filed in April.
In a statement provided to PYMNTS, a Circle spokesperson said: “Circle is not for sale. Our long-term goals remain the same.”
Seeking Alpha had reported Monday, citing a paywalled article by Fortune, that Circle was seeking a valuation of at least $5 billion in negotiations with Coinbase and Ripple as well as in its IPO.
It was reported April 30 that Circle rejected a $4 billion to $5 billion takeover bid from Ripple, saying the amount was too low. The report said Ripple remain interested in a deal but hadn’t decided whether to make another offer, while Circle was focused on its IPO.
On April 1, it was reported that Circle had hired investment banks to underwrite its potential IPO, though the timing of an IPO had not yet been decided.
The company announced in January 2024 that it was relaunching its plans to go public after delaying a planned IPO in December 2022.
A wave of digital asset megadeals was set off by the inauguration of a crypto-friendly White House and the relaxed U.S. regulation and potential for increased mainstream interest in the industry that followed.
Ripple announced April 8 that it purchased prime brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, saying that this acquisition made it the first cryptocurrency company to own and operate a multi-asset prime broker and marked one of the largest-ever deals in the digital asset space.
On May 9, Coinbase announced its plans to acquire Dubai-based crypto derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion, saying it intended to strengthen its position in the global derivatives market and expand its presence outside the United States, where it already operates the country’s leading digital asset exchange.
Circle announced an acquisition of its own on Jan. 21, saying it acquired Hashnote, issuer of the USYC stablecoin incubated by Cumberland Labs, the largest tokenized treasury and money market fund in the world.
“This is a huge unlock for a market that is increasingly being driven by institutional adoption, and where participants increasingly expect market structures that are common in TradFi,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said at the time in a press release.
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