Binance Takes $100M Stake in Circle Under Five-Year USDC Promotion Deal

In brief

• Circle issued Binance 1,237,011 Class A shares at $80.84 each, raising $100 million in a private placement that closed September 17.
• Under a separate five-year deal, Circle will pay Binance a monthly fee set as a percentage of the USDC held through its wallet infrastructure.
• Binance cannot sell or hedge the stock for up to two years but keeps its voting rights.

Stablecoin issuer Circle sold Binance 1,237,011 Class A shares at $80.84 apiece, raising $100 million in a private placement that closed on September 17, according to an 8-K filed Tuesday.

The placement closed immediately after an expanded commercial deal running the other way. Circle agreed to pay Binance a monthly incentive fee set as a percentage of the USDC held through its Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure service, and Binance agreed to promote the stablecoin on its platform. The arrangement runs five years, and either side can terminate early if specified events occur.

It is the third version of the tie-up in under two years. The filing says it supersedes and replaces agreements the two entered in November 2024 and August 2025. The first was unveiled at Abu Dhabi Finance Week that December, when Binance said it would make USDC available across its products and hold the stablecoin in its corporate treasury.