Binance takes $100M Circle stake in expanded USDC deal
What's the deal? Circle Internet GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $100 million from Binance through a private placement of more than 1.2 million Class A shares, according to an SEC filing. The two companies used the deal to expand their partnership around USDC, CircleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s dollar-backed stablecoin.
The terms: Binance bought the shares at $80.84 each on September 17, with the transaction completing immediately after new commercial arrangements were signed. It agreed to a two-year lockup on the shares, with customary exceptions, and keeps voting rights during that period.
Why now? The five-year agreement replaces earlier arrangements announced in November 2024 and August 2025. Under the new deal, Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee — a percentage of the USDC held through Circle's Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure — while Binance promotes USDC on its platform.
What's the endgame? The tie-up deepens Circle's distribution across the world's largest crypto exchange, tying USDC growth to Binance's user base. For Circle, wider adoption of the stablecoin directly supports its core business.
By the numbers: Circle shares rose about 3% on Monday to $94 and ticked higher in premarket trading, according to Yahoo Finance. At $100 million, the placement ranks in the 91st percentile among non-VC private placements in US blockchain over the trailing 48 months, across a sample of 681 deals.
The signal: Exchanges and stablecoin issuers are binding themselves closer together as competition for stablecoin market share intensifies. Binance's equity stake turns a commercial partnership into a longer-term alliance — a sign of how central stablecoin distribution has become to the crypto economy.
Read more: cryptobriefing.com
Image credit: Circle
