The Daily: Ripple denies earlier Circle bid reports, Webus plots $300 million XRP treasury, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Wednesday! June may be off to a snoozy start in the crypto market, but we've got plenty of news to keep you sharp before the next wave of volatility hits.

In today's newsletter, Brad Garlinghouse says Ripple never made a bid to acquire Circle, Webus files with the SEC for a potential $300 million XRP treasury plan, World Liberty Financial airdrops USD1 tokens to WLFI holders, and more.

Meanwhile, Truth Social files for a Bitcoin ETF, marking Trump Media's latest expansion into cryptocurrency.

Let's get started.

Ripple denies Circle acquisition reports

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse denied the firm ever pursued a deal to acquire USDC stablecoin issuer Circle, directly refuting recent reports of an offer between $4 billion and $5 billion.

• According to a conversation between Georgetown Law professor Chris Brummer onstage at Ripple Las Vegas, Garlinghouse was "unequivocal" in stating that an acquisition of Circle was never on the table.
• Circle also insists it's "not for sale" and is moving forward with plans to go public at a recently upsized potential valuation of up to $7.2 billion under the ticker CRCL.
• Ripple launched its own stablecoin, RLUSD, in December, which currently has a $310 million market cap compared to USDC's $61.5 billion.
• Ripple is betting on a world where crypto and traditional finance "are hybridized — where tokenized assets, stablecoins, and traditional financial institutions coexist and interoperate," Brummer said.
• In April, Ripple acquired global credit network Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, marking one of the largest crypto M&A deals until Coinbase's record $2.9 billion takeover of Deribit.

Webus files for $300 million XRP treasury plan

China-based automotive and hospitality company Webus has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $300 million for an XRP-based corporate treasury using debt financing.

• Webus has partnered with asset manager Samara Alpha to help build out its XRP reserve strategy.
• The firm also aims to streamline cross-border payments and boost booking transparency across its operations by integrating with Ripple's blockchain-based payment network.
• The move marks further institutional adoption of XRP, following similar treasury initiatives by VivoPower and Wellgistics, echoing other corporate accumulation models for BTC, ETH, and SOL.

World Liberty Financial airdrops USD1 tokens to WLFI holders

Trump-backed World Liberty Financial confirmed it airdropped $4 million worth of USD1 stablecoins to WLFI holders on Wednesday, sending them 47 tokens each.

• The airdrop followed a 99.96% community-approved proposal to test the onchain distribution of a "small amount" of its Ethereum-based, dollar-backed stablecoin to all WLFI holders.
• Despite the smooth rollout, USD1's centralization has raised concerns, with 93.9% of its supply controlled by just three wallets.
• Trump and his family's involvement in World Liberty Financial has helped fuel the adoption of the DeFi project while drawing political scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest.

South Korea elects pro-crypto Lee as new president

South Korea elected pro-crypto left-wing party candidate Lee Jae-myung as president following a historic 79.4% voter turnout and the impeachment of his predecessor, Yoon Suk-yeol, after backlash over his failed military rule.

• Outside of the country's more urgent economic challenges, Lee pledged to legalize spot crypto ETFs and approve stablecoins pegged to the Korean won to help curb capital outflows.
• His administration plans to complete the second phase of South Korea's digital asset laws, with a focus on stablecoin oversight and crypto exchange transparency.
• Lee also vowed to cut red tape in South Korea's specially designated blockchain zones, signaling a broader push to accelerate crypto innovation in the country.

Bitwise CIO says don't add bitcoin to traditional portfolios in isolation — rethinking its role can boost returns and cut risk

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said investors shouldn't add bitcoin to a traditional portfolio in isolation, potentially generating higher returns with less risk by compensating for the addition elsewhere.

• Hougan showed that even small bitcoin allocations historically boosted returns in traditional 60/40 portfolios with only a modest increase in volatility.
• However, he argues that adjusting other exposures — like reducing equity and increasing bond allocations or shifting to short-term Treasuries while adding between 5% and 10% to bitcoin — can offset risk and enhance performance overall.

In the next 24 hours

• Eurozone PPI data are released at 5 a.m. ET on Thursday. The ECB's latest interest rate decision follows at 8:15 a.m. U.S. jobless claims figures are out at 8:30 a.m.
• An ECB press conference is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. ECB President Christine Lagarde will speak at 10:15 a.m. U.S. FOMC members Adriana Kugler and Patrick Harker speak at 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively.
• Ethena is set for a token unlock.

Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5/4 and reviewed and edited by our editorial team.

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