Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has acquired a $100 million equity stake in Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, which is pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar.
The investment is tied to a five‑year commercial agreement that supersedes earlier arrangements dating back to November 2024 and August 2025.
Circle issued Binance 1,237,011 Class A common shares at $80.84 each via a private placement that closed on September 17, as disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulator of publicly traded companies.
Benefits for Binance from the Expanded Partnership
In addition to the equity stake, the revised agreement reshapes how Binance and Circle collaborate on the adoption of USDC.
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Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee equal to a percentage of the USDC balance held in its Modular Smart Contract Wallet, an infrastructure platform that enables other services to embed USDC wallet functionality.
In return, Binance has agreed to intensify USDC promotion on its exchange. The five‑year term contains early‑termination clauses that apply to either party under defined circumstances.
Circle’s stock (NYSE: CRCL) opened at $95.70, a 1.45% increase, after closing the previous session at $94.29; premarket trading had already lifted the price following the deal announcement.
This development deepens the relationship between two leading stablecoin ecosystem players—Circle, the USDC issuer, and Binance, a major exchange where USDC sees the highest trading volume.
