CoinRoutes chief executive Dave Weisberger sparked renewed anxiety in the XRP market on Monday during Scott Melker’s podcast when he questioned whether Ripple Labs could finance a takeover of Circle for “$10 to $20 billion” without selling off approximately $10 billion in XRP. He cautioned that a sudden influx of supply could overwhelm order books and significantly “hammer the price.”
In response, pro-XRP attorney Fred Rispoli defended Ripple on X, stating, “I love @daveweisberger1, but on this point he is mcgloning so hard.” He argued that based on offers he received for his Ripple shares in the secondary market, Ripple wouldn’t need to sell any XRP to acquire Circle. While he acknowledged Ripple couldn't raise $10 billion in pure cash, he maintained that a mix of cash, debt, and equity-swap could easily fund the acquisition.
Weisberger contended that Circle’s board would likely demand cash unless they accepted Ripple equity or XRP “without a haircut.” Rispoli countered that $10 billion in cash was unrealistic, especially citing valuations that placed Ripple at $15 billion, excluding its approximately 36 billion escrowed XRP. He suggested that if Circle’s price dropped to $7–9 billion, Ripple could close the deal with $1–3 billion in cash, a significant stock exchange, and debt, arguing it was feasible without substantially selling XRP.
Weisberger acknowledged Rispoli's analysis as reasonable but warned that pricing at the upper end of Rispoli’s range could result in short-term pain for XRP holders. Ripple's tender-offer buyback in January 2024 valued the company at $11.3 billion, revealing over $1 billion in cash and around $25 billion in digital assets—primarily XRP. Currently, Ripple holds about 52 billion XRP, which is roughly 40 percent of the supply, although 36 billion are in escrow, limiting immediate access.
At the current spot price of $2.20, the available XRP is worth just under $35 billion, but quickly moving even a small amount could impact market depth, a concern Weisberger emphasized. Ripple's cash reserves also decreased after its $1.25 billion acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road in April, a deal financed through cash, equity, and RLUSD stablecoins, indicating a preference for hybrid financing structures.
The question of whether Circle is even for sale remains. Circle, the issuer of USDC, has consistently stated it is “not for sale” while pursuing a New York Stock Exchange listing aimed at a $7.2 billion valuation. Reports indicated that Ripple’s rumored offer earlier this spring exceeded $5 billion, which was below Weisberger's stress case and within Rispoli’s feasible range, but Circle declined the discussions and subsequently updated its S-1 to expand its float rather than pursue a sale.
Strategically, Ripple has its own dollar-token, RLUSD, launched in January and presented by president Monica Long as “complementary to XRP, not a competitor.” Acquiring the issuer of USDC could significantly elevate Ripple's market position. Nonetheless, even under Rispoli's optimistic financial structure, Ripple might still need to liquidate several hundred million dollars’ worth of XRP to cover working capital and closing costs. At current trading volumes, selling just 500 million XRP (approximately $1.1 billion) could equate to half a week of global turnover, enough to distort prices unless handled through private transactions. As of press time, XRP was trading at $2.19.
