What is another day in crypto without an alarm?
As you know, Ripple and Coinbase are now locked in an auction war of several billion dollars to acquire Circle – the power behind the USDC. The price reported is high that $ 11 billion. This could shake the bases of the Stablescoin market.
If Ripple wins, he would not have only taken control of a major asset in dollars but could instantly become one of the most dominant forces of the whole ecosystem. And not everyone agrees with that.
Critics are already launching antitrust red flags and warns potential chaos if the agreement takes place.
Why is this acquisition important? Here is the buzz.
A disaster is preparing
Gabriel Shapiro, founder of Metalelex Labs, did not hold back when he weighed on the possible case of Rippage circle.
“Ripple the largest active ingredient on each blockchain would obviously be disastrous and anti -competitive”, ” He warned, raising serious antitrust alarms.
Shapiro believes that if the acquisition takes place, it will not go to regulators.
“If a final agreement is signed, we will be at the Doj and FTC door, citing the history of Ripple’s campaigns against Bitcoin and Ethereum …”
He also underlined the past behavior of Ripple, revealing how the company previously used its influence to hurt the competitors – as when Chris Larsen joined forces with Greenpeace in 2022 to target Bitcoin extraction. According to Shapiro, Circle must consider the Revlon doctrinewhich obliges companies to act in the best interests of shareholders – including the weighing at the antitrust risk.
Oof, a well documented whip!
Rejected offers, XRP lever effect and heated auction war
The reports suggest that Ripple had initially offered about $ 4 to 5 billion to acquire Circle earlier this year – but was refused. Now it is apparently back to the table with deeper pockets, possibly combining money and XRP reserves for a much higher offer.
“Ripple takes place on Holdings at around $ 94 billion on the basis of an estimate of around $ 40 billion in XRP at the current price at $ 2.37,” said Paul Barron in a position now deleted.
But legal roadblocks still exist – Ripple cannot easily liquidate these tokens without sign of the judge.
On the other side, Coinbase has a healthy assessment: about 8.5 billion dollars in cash and nearly $ 2.8 billion in cryptographic investment. However, despite his financial strength, he did not take a step – raising questions.
Circle’s fate: Ripple, Coinbase … or a surprise player?
While Ripple seems aggressive, Coinbase can always have the edge – in particular with American regulators likely to scrutinize Ripple.
“If Coinbase wanted to buy them, Circle would sell in the blink of an eye,” said a banker.
And let’s not exclude a black horse. Companies like Japan SBI Holdings, one of the biggest XRP holders, could intervene with support.
The Ripple acquisition thrust could move the dynamics of the stablescoin overnight. But if Shapiro’s warnings take place, this could be transformed in a decisive moment for the future of Crypto. Hope, a good one.