Circle is at the center of a fierce battle between Ripple and Coinbase, and the stakes are higher than ever. The company that issues the USDC stablecoin has seen its valuation soar from around $4B in April to as much as $11B today. What was originally a modest IPO plan now looks like a footnote in a much larger story about stablecoin dominance and blockchain governance.
In late April 2025, Ripple made an informal offer in the $4 to $5 billion dollar range, but Circle turned it down as too low. Since then, bids have reportedly climbed to between $6 and $11 billion, as both Ripple and Coinbase compete for control of the $61B dollar USDC network. According to Circle’s IPO prospectus, the company generated $1.7 billion in 2024 revenue, of which one billion went to distribution partners and Coinbase alone collected $900M, representing over half of Circle’s top line.
Behind the scenes, some Ethereum core developers have raised the specter of a network update that could freeze or even delist USDC if Ripple succeeds in acquiring Circle. Although these discussions remain unverified, such an action would require consensus under Ethereum’s fork choice rule, which uses the latest message driven Ghost protocol and Casper finality gadget to determine the canonical chain.
Just last month, on April 22, Circle quietly rolled out its global payments and cross border remittance network, promising real time settlement and lower fees. Then the communications went silent, suggesting that Circle may be shifting its attention away from payments infrastructure to focus on its pending IPO or a possible sale.
When Circle confidentially filed for an IPO on April 1, the company targeted a valuation of $4 to $6 billion and planned to list under the ticker CRCL. That range now looks conservative compared to the $6 to $11 billion takeover discussions, and Circle is believed to be seeking at least $5B, whether through an initial listing or a private sale.
The real prize in this battle is not just a stablecoin, but the influence that comes with it. Whoever ends up controlling Circle will hold significant sway over proof of stake networks like Ethereum and Solana, since validators and node operators may favor protocol upgrades that ensure stablecoin functionality. In Solana’s case, governance depends on on chain advisory votes, feature activation gates and delegated stake, with changes taking effect only after a supermajority of validators upgrade in unison.
In just a few weeks, Circle has gone from IPO hopeful to the centerpiece of a five dimensional contest for network power. The outcome will not only decide the fate of Circle and USDC, but it could also tip the balance of power across the largest smart contract platforms, transforming stablecoin ownership into a lever of real governance influence.
