Circle plunges nearly 10% as XRP Ledger integrates USDC, EVM sidechain to launch in Q2

• Circle announced the integration of its USDC stablecoin on the XRP Ledger.
• Ripple CTO and product director announced at Apex 2025 that XRP Ledger's EVM-compatible sidechain will launch in Q2.
• XRP rolled out a testnet for its EVM sidechain earlier in the year.

Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) saw a 9.1% decline on Thursday after it revealed that it has integrated USDC on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), making it available for businesses and users on the remittance-based token's blockchain. Meanwhile, Ripple executives David Schwartz and Jaazi Cooper revealed at the Apex 2025 conference that XRPL will launch its EVM-compatible sidechain in Q2.

USDC goes live on XRPL amid plans for sidechain launch

Circle Internet Group has launched its USDC stablecoin on the XRP Ledger mainnet, according to a press release on Thursday. The company claimed XRPL's "fast and secure transactions" were key factors behind the integration.

Blockchain networks, such as Ethereum (ETH), Tron (TRX) and Solana (SOL), have benefited largely from integrating several stablecoins, which has boosted interest in their respective native tokens. With the launch of USDC on the XRP Ledger, similar advantages could be expected within the XRP ecosystem. 

The development follows Circle's impressive performance on the stock market since its initial public offering (IPO) last Wednesday. From an IPO price of $31, CRCL rose to a high of $138 on Monday before declining toward the $110 mark in the following days and has moved range-bound since then. It rose briefly toward $120 on Wednesday but tapered some of those gains on Thursday, declining 9.1% on the day.

Meanwhile, Ripple announced it will debut an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible sidechain for the XRP Ledger in the second quarter of 2025. Ripple's Director of Product Management, Jaazi Cooper, and David Schwartz, the company's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), shared the update during the ongoing Apex 2025 conference in Singapore.

EVM compatibility will allow developers to deploy Ethereum-based applications on the XRPL ecosystem, bridging Ripple's ecosystem with Ethereum's extensive DeFi infrastructure.

The company rolled out a testnet for this sidechain earlier in the year, developed in partnership with Peersyst Technology.

Additionally, Nasdaq-listed Trident Digital Tech Holdings announced its plans to raise $500 million to launch an XRP treasury. The company plans to raise capital through a mix of stock offerings, strategic placements, and financing instruments. It claims that it will capitalize on staking to help generate yield for its XRP acquisitions.

Trident plans to launch the XRP Treasury in the second half of the year, subject to regulatory compliance and prevailing market conditions.

XRP is down 3% despite the positive developments surrounding its ecosystem.