Binance Takes $100M Stake in Circle Under Five-Year USDC Promotion Deal
Circle sold Binance 1,237,011 Class A shares for $100 million in a private placement that closed Sept. 17, at $80.84 per share. The stock sale accompanied a renewed five-year commercial agreement: Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive tied to USDC held through Circle’s wallet infrastructure, and Binance will promote USDC on its platform. Either side can exit early if certain conditions are met. This replaces prior deals from November 2024 and August 2025. Binance cannot sell, transfer, pledge, or hedge the shares for two years, though it retains voting rights and some transfer exceptions apply. The purchase was below Circle’s then-market price, though Binance cannot realize any gain until restrictions lift. The filing came as Circle launched Arc, a Layer 1 network using USDC as gas, with Binance providing access routes.
