Hoskinson Addresses Antitrust Concerns Over Ripple’s Potential Acquisition of Circle

During a recent Sunday Ask-Me-Anything session on YouTube, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, minimized concerns related to antitrust issues surrounding Ripple’s possible acquisition of Circle.

Hoskinson expressed a positive outlook on the deal, suggesting it could lead to improvements in the cryptocurrency landscape. He remarked, “I think it’s going to make the space better. It’s like this Coinbase A16Z Serkolmafia built an ecosystem, selfish in that ecosystem, and when it’s outside of it, it’s hard to be listed if it’s completely blacklisted.”

He further commented that Ripple and XRP have the potential to dismantle existing monopolies, fostering greater diversity in the market. “And I think they’ll be better custodians… especially some people on the Circle side,” he added.

Bloomberg initially reported that in late April, a $5 billion acquisition bid from Ripple was rejected as being too low. Hoskinson noted he had heard that Ripple might be willing to increase its offer to as much as $11 billion to secure Circle.

According to Fortune, Ripple and Coinbase are currently the leading candidates for acquiring Circle, with Coinbase having an apparent edge due to its extensive relationship with the firm.

Circle filed for an IPO in early April and appears poised to move forward with its public offering despite ongoing acquisition discussions.

Gabriel Shapiro, founder of Metalex Labs, previously stated that the acquisition of Circle by Ripple could trigger significant upheaval in the crypto space, coining it a potential “Crypto Apocalypse.” However, he also expressed skepticism about whether such a deal could clear antitrust scrutiny if it were to happen.