Binance buys $100 million Circle stake in expanded five-year USDC deal

Binance bought $100 million of stablecoin issuer Circle's stock as part of an expanded five-year agreement to promote USDC on the exchange. Circle issued Binance 1,237,011 shares of Class A common stock at $80.84 per share in a private placement on Sept. 17, according to a Tuesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The purchase price was discounted from Circle's market price before the transaction closed. Circle's New York Stock Exchange-listed CRCL shares rose more than 1.3% in Tuesday's premarket trading after closing Monday at $94.29 per share, according to Yahoo Finance data. Under the agreement, Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee based on the amount of USDC held through Circle's Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure. Binance also agreed to undertake additional activities promoting USDC on its platform. Binance cannot sell, transfer, assign, pledge or hypothecate the Circle shares for up to two years. The restriction may end earlier if Binance terminates the commercial agreement under specified conditions. Binance retains voting rights over the shares during the lockup period. The arrangement replaces agreements the companies entered into in November 2024 and August 2025. It has a five-year term, although either party may terminate it early under specified circumstances.