Binance has invested $100 million in Circle Internet Group while entering a new five year commercial agreement that will pay the crypto exchange to promote USDC across its platform.
Summary
- Binance purchased 1.24 million Circle shares for roughly $100 million through a private placement completed on Sept. 17.
- Circle will pay Binance monthly incentives tied to qualifying USDC balances, while Binance will promote the stablecoin across its platform.
- Binance cannot sell, transfer or hedge the shares for up to two years under the agreement, but retains voting rights.
- The five year partnership replaces earlier USDC agreements between Circle and Binance from November 2024 and August 2025.
According to a securities filing cited in reports published Tuesday, Circle issued Binance 1.24 million Class A common shares at $80.84 each through a private placement that closed Sept. 17, bringing the transaction value to roughly $100 million.
The purchase was completed alongside new commercial terms between the companies covering the distribution and promotion of USDC. Circle agreed to pay Binance monthly incentive fees based on the amount of USDC held through its Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure, while Binance agreed to carry out promotional activities tied to the stablecoin.
Circle said the $80.84 share price represented a discount to the company’s market value before the transaction. Binance faces restrictions on disposing of the shares under the agreement, limiting its ability to sell, transfer or hedge the position until the earlier of two years or certain circumstances in which Binance terminates the related commercial arrangements.
Binance retains voting rights attached to the shares during the restriction period.
Binance and Circle extend USDC deal for five years
The latest agreement replaces earlier commercial arrangements between Circle and Binance dating to November 2024 and August 2025.
Circle disclosed in its annual filing that the November 2024 agreement included a $60.3 million one time upfront payment to Binance and monthly incentive fees calculated using USDC balances held on the exchange and in its treasury, subject to minimum balance requirements. The treasury portion of that arrangement carried a two year term.
An expanded agreement signed in August 2025 covered USDC held through Circle’s Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure. Circle agreed under those terms to make monthly incentive payments based on qualifying balances, while the arrangement carried a four year term with specified early termination provisions.
The companies have now replaced those arrangements with the five year agreement accompanying Binance’s equity purchase. Either party can terminate the new partnership before the full term if specified events occur, though the termination thresholds and related figures have not been publicly disclosed.
Circle subsidiaries entered into the commercial agreements, with the equity transaction closing immediately afterward.
The 1.24 million shares were issued through an unregistered private placement. As a result, Binance cannot freely resell the securities unless they are subsequently registered or the transaction qualifies for an exemption from registration requirements.
USDC ties between Binance and Circle have grown since 2024
Binance and Circle have been expanding their relationship since announcing a strategic USDC partnership in December 2024.
As crypto.news previously reported, the initial partnership was designed to make USDC available across more Binance products and services, including trading, savings and payments. Binance said at the time that it planned to use USDC in its own corporate treasury operations.
Their cooperation later extended beyond the stablecoin’s conventional use as a dollar pegged trading asset.
In July 2025, Binance began accepting Circle’s USYC as off exchange collateral for institutional derivatives trading. The arrangement allowed institutional customers to use the tokenized Treasury product as collateral while retaining its yield generating characteristics.
USYC was integrated through Binance’s triparty banking partners and custody infrastructure, while Circle said the asset could be converted into USDC when liquidity was required. Circle planned native issuance of USYC on BNB Chain as part of the integration.
Binance has continued adding infrastructure around Circle products. The exchange completed its integration of USDC deposits on Circle’s Arc network on Sept. 16, according to a Binance announcement.
Circle has expanded USDC distribution through major platforms
Circle’s agreement with Binance sits alongside other distribution arrangements through which the company pays partners connected to USDC circulation.
In August, Circle renewed its USDC agreement with Coinbase for another three years through 2029 on existing terms. Circle reported $73.3 billion of USDC in circulation at the end of the second quarter, up 19% from the same period a year earlier, while Coinbase held 30% of the circulating supply on its platform.
Circle generated $701 million in second quarter revenue and reserve income, an increase of 7% from the previous year, according to the August earnings report. The company said it planned to reinvest capital in products, distribution partnerships and other strategic opportunities instead of introducing quarterly dividends.
Distribution efforts have extended outside crypto exchanges. Circle signed a principal partnership with Chelsea Football Club in August, putting USDC branding on Chelsea shirts for the men’s, women’s and academy teams during the 2026/27 season.
The company has pursued payment infrastructure partnerships at the same time. Nium joined Circle Payments Network as a global payout partner earlier this year, connecting USDC based settlement with local currency payouts through bank accounts, wallets and cards across more than 190 countries and 100 currencies.
Binance has increased the role of USDC across its platform
Binance’s use of USDC has changed considerably since the exchange removed several USDC trading pairs in 2022 as part of an effort to concentrate stablecoin liquidity.
The exchange began bringing USDC pairs back in December 2023 and later expanded their availability across spot markets. Binance subsequently converted assets held in its Secure Asset Fund for Users into USDC and increased the stablecoin’s role across trading products.
Regulatory changes in Europe produced another expansion. Binance moved to remove non MiCA compliant stablecoin spot pairs for European Economic Area users in March 2025 while continuing support for compliant assets including USDC and EURI. The exchange offered zero fee trading on selected pairs and rewards tied to USDC or EURI as users moved away from affected stablecoins.
More recently, Binance has used USDC in products extending into traditional financial assets. The exchange launched tokenized U.S. equities in June, with the first batch of bStocks including Circle shares alongside Nvidia, Tesla, Micron and Sandisk.
The products are backed 1:1 by underlying securities and can be moved into self custody wallets or used in supported decentralized finance applications. Eligible users can convert the tokenized positions back into direct stock positions under the service’s terms.
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