Ripple Labs has made a $5 billion all-stock bid to acquire Circle. Circle is the same company that issued USDC, one of the top three largest stablecoins on the cryptocurrency market. The bid was ultimately rejected. Despite the failed acquisition, Ripple didn’t abandon their mission. Today, the company is singularly focused on advancing its own native XRP cryptocurrency and RLUSD, its recently launched stablecoin.

Ripple's Acquisition Attempt and Subsequent Strategy

Ripple’s interest in acquiring Circle was partially based on the belief that stablecoins would be a strategic asset in the digital economy of the future. Globally regulated and approved in the EU, USDC has become a cornerstone within decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems, and a bridge to digital payments. In addition, Circle has secured relationships with other large financial institutions, including Visa and Mastercard.

Despite the setback, Ripple is forging ahead. They are launching their own stablecoin, RLUSD, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar and primarily backed by U.S. Treasuries. With this new plan, Ripple is taking an aggressive approach to increase its share of the stablecoin market. This market is presently dominated by USDT, the third-largest cryptocurrency project, behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.

RLUSD and the Future of XRP

Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, has been adamant that RLUSD is not designed to further the use of XRP.

"RLUSD WON'T REPLACE XRP. #XRP HAS A UNIQUE ROLE ON THE DEX AS A BRIDGE ASSET!" - David Schwartz, Ripple CTO

At the same time, this declaration sheds light on XRP’s special position within the Ripple world. It should become a bridge asset on decentralized exchanges. Some analysts are already predicting that XRP could climb to $3.50 — or even $10 — by year’s end.

Ripple's Foray Into Tokenization

With aspirations to take a leading role in tokenization—a market expected to surpass a trillion dollars by 2030—Ripple is betting big on this future. The firm sees big opportunities in bringing real world assets on chain. RLUSD will be at the heart of these new initiatives. BlackRock has chosen USDC as its preferred stablecoin for digital payments and remittances, indicating the growing acceptance of stablecoins in traditional finance. By 2025, USDC will emerge as a major player in the DeFi landscape. It will enable trading, lending, and yield farming on blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana.