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Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has taken a $100 million equity stake in Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, a digital token pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar.
The investment comes bundled with an expanded, five-year commercial agreement between the two companies that replaces prior arrangements from Nov. 2024 and Aug. 2025. Circle issued Binance 1,237,011 Class A common shares at $80.84 apiece through a private placement that closed on Sept. 17, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC is a U.S. regulator overseeing publicly traded companies. **Related: Analyst sells Bitcoin at $85K and his reason might surprise you** The per-share price marked a discount to Circle's market value at the time of the sale. Under the terms of the deal, Binance is barred from selling, transferring, pledging, or hedging the shares for up to two years. That restriction could lift earlier if Binance ends the commercial side of the agreement under specified conditions.
Binance retains voting rights on the shares throughout the lockup period. Beyond the equity stake, the new agreement restructures how the two companies work together on USDC adoption. Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee calculated as a percentage of USDC held through Circle's Modular Smart Contract Wallet, an infrastructure service that lets platforms embed USDC wallet functionality.
In exchange, Binance has committed to additional promotional activity for USDC across its exchange. The five-year term includes early-termination provisions for either party under specified circumstances. Circle's stock (NYSE: CRCL) was trading at $95.70, up 1.45%, at market open.
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