Binance agrees to buy $100 million of Circle shares in five-year USDC deal

Binance agreed to buy $100 million of Circle shares at $80.84 each as part of a five-year agreement to promote Circle’s USDC stablecoin on Binance’s platform. The shares will be subject to a lockup of up to two years, with some exceptions. The agreement gives USDC access to Binance’s large global user base, while Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee tied to USDC balances. Circle shares rose more than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday. The partnership supports Circle’s effort to expand USDC beyond its historically U.S.-focused base and compete more directly with Tether in international crypto markets. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company sees opportunities to use USDC to expand access to dollars, support savings and investment through digital asset products, and reach people and businesses in emerging markets. Circle has also been trying to expand beyond issuing USDC by launching its Arc blockchain last week and pursuing nanopayments and agentic commerce. The company still relies on USDC to drive that expansion, and the Binance partnership is intended to help the stablecoin gain international users and support other parts of Circle’s business. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said Circle is a credible issuer across USDC, Arc and infrastructure for moving value across borders. He said the partnership is designed to support a more inclusive, transparent and compliant digital economy and make a stable digital dollar available to anyone with a phone. USDC and Tether’s USDT are designed to maintain a one-to-one value with the U.S. dollar, but they have pursued users and financial partners differently. CryptoQuant data cited in the article showed roughly $183 billion of USDT in circulation compared with about $75 billion of USDC. USDT has a strong international trading presence, while USDC has emphasized regulated markets, transparency and payments. The competition is over which stablecoin becomes the default for global crypto trading, payments and finance.