Crypto Biz: Wall Street and crypto fight for the same turf

The line between crypto companies and traditional finance is blurring. Binance is buying a $100 million stake in Circle, Canada’s six largest banks are exploring tokenized deposits and the New York Stock Exchange is working with Blockchain.com to bring US stocks and ETFs onchain.

Crypto companies want a bigger role in payments and traditional assets, while banks and exchanges are bringing those markets onchain without giving up their place at the center of the financial system.

This week’s Crypto Biz highlights how stablecoins and tokenized assets put crypto companies and traditional finance on increasingly overlapping turf, with both sides vying for control over how money and assets move.

Binance bets $100 million on Circle in expanded USDC deal

Binance is deepening its ties to Circle with a $100 million investment in the stablecoin issuer and a five-year agreement to expand USDC adoption across the exchange.

According to a Tuesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Circle issued Binance 1,237,011 shares of Class A common stock at $80.84 apiece in a Sept. 17 private placement. The purchase price was below Circle’s market price before the deal closed. CRCL shares rose following the announcement.