TL;DR

Charles Hoskinson weighed in on the rumored multi-billion-dollar bidding war between Ripple and Coinbase for stablecoin issuer Circle. He also revealed ongoing talks to bring Ripple’s RLUSD to Cardanos ecosystem.

Hoskinsons Choice

In a recent video on YouTube, Cardanos founder claimed that such an acquisition would make the crypto space better. Hoskinson also argued that the Coinbase-a16z-Circle mafia has built a self-serving ecosystem. 

And if you are outside of it, you get completely blacklisted, and its hard to get listed, its hard to get liquidity, and its hard to get a stablecoin, he added.

The American thinks a potential deal between Ripple and Circle would break apart that monopoly and create more diversity. Hoskinson believes the company behind the XRP token would serve as a better custodian.

The American business magazine Fortune was among the first to report that Ripple and Coinbase are competing to acquire Circle (the entity issuing the popular stablecoin USDC). According to the coverage, each firm is willing to commit billions of dollars to the deal.

Angel investor Paul Barron recently suggested that sources indicate Ripple may have the edge in the potential $9 billion+ settlement.

The battle for the stablecoin issuer remained a hot topic over the weekend, with some X users claiming that Ripple submitted an $11 billion bid.

Others assumed that the company would make an offer that couldnt be rejected today (May 26). However, numerous industry participants dismissed this theory, reminding that Monday is a public holiday in the United States, meaning a deal is unlikely to be announced in the following hours. 

It is important to note that several weeks ago, reports hinted that Ripple made an offer of roughly $4-$5 million to purchase Circle, which the latter supposedly turned down for being too low. Subsequent rumors circulated that the amount was later raised to $20 billion, although this remained unconfirmed.

Cardano-Ripple Pact on the Way?

Hoskinson also said the Cardano team reached out to their colleagues from Ripple regarding the integration of the stablecoin RLUSD. 

We would like to find a path to get RLUSD on Cardano We would do the integration for free because we like the XRP community, but its still an ongoing conversation, the American said. 

The idea of a potential collaboration between Cardano and Ripple has been circulating for quite some time. Towards the end of 2024, the bosses of the two entities, Brad Garlinghouse and Charles Hoskinson, exchanged kind words. Shortly after, the latter hinted that Cardano might integrate Ripples stablecoin into its ecosystem.

Weve already had a call with the RLUSD people. We are actively talking, he stated at the time.

In April, Ripple shared a video on X focused on the future of tokenization. Interestingly, it opened with a brief glimpse of Cardanos logo, fueling further speculation that a partnership might be on the horizon. However, nothing has been officially confirmed.