Circle, the issuer of stablecoin USDC (USDC), is still planning an initial public offering (IPO), but the company is also in informal talks with Ripple and Coinbase about a sale, according to a report from Fortune.

Circle is seeking at least $5 billion, which is its target for the IPO, according to the four banking and private equity sources Fortune cited. Ripple tried to purchase Circle on April 30, but the $4 billion to $5 billion bid was rejected as being too low.

If Ripple or Coinbase were to buy Circle, the details of a purchase would differ. Ripple would pay using cash and XRP (XRP), a cryptocurrency that Ripple created. Coinbase, on the other hand, would use cash and stock.

Coinbase and Circle have a relationship dating to 2018, when they launched the Centre Consortium. That venture was meant to establish standards for fiat-backed stablecoins, including USDC. Coinbase also has an agreement with Circle to put USDC onto its exchange.

Circle filed for an IPO on April 1 with a goal to complete the process by the end of that month. The company backpedaled slightly on April 4, indicating it might delay its IPO due to economic uncertainty.

Related: New bull cycle? Bitcoin’s return to $100K hints at ‘significant price move’

Market conditions for IPOs improve as tariffs wane

In December 2024, Bitwise predicted that 2025 would be the year of the crypto IPO, and that prediction is starting to bear fruit. Aside from Circle, crypto exchanges Gemini and Kraken are mulling IPOs in 2025 or early 2026 as US President Donald Trump has pushed for a more favorable regulatory environment for crypto in the United States.

Those plans were put on hold after the Trump administration enacted wide-ranging tariffs that caused market turmoil. With the tariffs now suspended or reduced, markets have rebounded.

On May 12, Cointelegraph reported that Bitcoin (BTC) was 4.8% away from reaching its all-time high of $109,800. Ether (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL) have also seen big gains in the past month. The stock market has rebounded as well, with the S&P 500 jumping 15.6% in the past month according to Google Finance.

At least one company has benefited from completing its IPO during this period of renewed enthusiasm: eToro, an Israel-based trading company. After an IPO on May 14, its stock price jumped 29%.

Magazine: .X Hall of Flame: Bitcoin will ‘start ripping’ as Trump’s polls improve — Felix Hartmann 

On May 22, US President Donald Trump is expected to host up to 220 people who had purchased the most significant quantities of his memecoin at a private event in Washington, DC.

Though the exact number of attendees was unknown as of May 19, reports and blockchain data have revealed some of the tokenholders who qualified to apply for the May 22 dinner and “VIP tour” and reception, presumed to be in the White House. Bloomberg reported on May 7 that more than half of the 220 wallets were likely controlled by foreign nationals.

Among the memecoin dinner applicants, who likely still face background checks ahead of getting a confirmed appearance before the president, included Synthetix founder Kain Warwick, a consultant named Vincent Deriu, and crypto user Morten Christensen, who reportedly only paid $1,200 for the opportunity.

Others included a World Liberty Financial adviser going by the pseudonym “Ogle,” and a representative from the Singapore-based startup MemeCore. Cointelegraph has also learned that Vincent Liu, chief investment officer of the Taiwan-based company Kronos Research, plans to attend.

Trump’s memecoin, even before the announced dinner and reception, was criticized by many members of Congress.

Some lawmakers said the president was opening the White House up to potential bribes and conflicts of interest by allowing people, perhaps tied to foreign governments, to put money directly into his pockets without transparency.

Interfering with stablecoin, market structure bills

The controversy has spilled over into proposed legislation connected to digital assets, including a bill in the Senate aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins and a draft market structure bill in the House of Representatives. Some Democrats said they would not support any legislation until “Trump’s crypto corruption” was addressed.

May 14 BlueSky post on Trump memecoin. Source: Elizabeth Warren

“Democrats are thinking that this is just an official means by which to conduct corruption,” said Rebecca Liao, co-founder and CEO of layer-1 blockchain Saga, in a statement shared with Cointelegraph. “What began as a bipartisan bill with potential widespread support has now transformed into a proxy war between the Democrats and the Trump administration.”

Related: Trump’s crypto ties ‘add a certain level of challenge’ to passing bills — Coinbase exec

Some organizations have planned protests during the memecoin dinner on May 22. The Democratic Party’s arm in Arlington, Virginia, announced its members would gather to oppose those in the White House “cashing in on their public office.” Cointelegraph reached out to the organization for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Buying influence, or just speculating on an emerging market?

The top 220 tokenholders reportedly spent a combined $148 million to have the opportunity to attend the event, which finalized its leaderboard on May 12. However, anyone with a wallet can still buy TRUMP tokens and potentially influence the president’s policies after the dinner is completed. 

“The decision to acquire the [TRUMP] token was not political,” Vincent Liu of Kronos Research, who plans on attending the memecoin dinner, told Cointelegraph. “It was based on identifying early momentum, cultural relevance, and potential market catalysts.”

In April, Freight Technologies said it would invest $20 million in the TRUMP token, suggesting that it could affect the president’s trade policies between the US and Mexico, where the firm conducts some of its business. GD Culture Group announced in May that the memecoin would be included in its plans for a $300-million crypto reserve.

“The issue is the conflict of interest between the Trump family’s crypto investments and the administration’s pivot toward crypto-friendly policies,” said Liao. “The Trump family has very openly invested in crypto and has started their own crypto ventures. This has created a perception problem where policy shifts favoring cryptocurrency could be viewed as self-enrichment rather than in the national interest.”

If the stablecoin bill, the GENIUS Act, is the first test for how Republicans and Democrats will respond to Trump’s potential conflicts of interest in the crypto industry, there is already a stark contrast between the two parties. ​​

House Speaker Mike Johnson largely brushed off concerns about the president and his family’s connections to the industry, saying he was “not an expert in that.” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly reportedly said there were “no conflicts of interest” because Trump’s children managed his assets through a trust.

Lawmakers are expected to take up a vote on the GENIUS Act in a matter of days, possibly before the memecoin dinner and reception are held. At the time of publication, it was unclear whether Republicans intended to address some of the Democrats’ concerns around Trump and crypto, or move forward with a vote with no significant changes to the bill.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

The US Department of Justice is reportedly conducting a probe over Coinbase’s contracted customer service agents in India, who accepted bribes in exchange for allowing criminals access to user data.

According to a May 19 Bloomberg report, DOJ investigators are looking into the data breach, which Coinbase disclosed to the public on May 15. The exchange reported that a group of customer support contractors — subsequently fired — “abused their access to […] systems to steal the account data for a small subset of customers.”

“We have notified and are working with the DOJ and other US and international law enforcement agencies and welcome law enforcement’s pursuit of criminal charges against these bad actors,” said Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, according to Bloomberg.

Related: New Zealand man arrested in $265M crypto scam tied to FBI probe

Though “no passwords, private keys, or funds were exposed” according to Coinbase, the data breach resulted in social engineering attacks targeting users, including a Sequoia Capital partner, with losses estimated at up to $400 million. The attackers also attempted to extort $20 million from Coinbase in exchange for not disclosing the breach, which the company refused.

Backlash in the courts

The attempted social engineering attacks have resulted in Coinbase users filing several lawsuits against the exchange, alleging that the company mishandled their personal data. One user, a retired artist named Ed Suman, reported losing $2 million to the scammers.

Coinbase’s stock price fluctuated following the news of the breach and an unrelated probe from the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its reported “verified user” numbers. Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Magazine: Father-son team lists Africa’s XRP Healthcare on Canadian stock exchange