- Binance invests $100M in Circle and extends its USDC partnership for five years.
- Binance bought 1,237,011 Class A common shares at $80.84 each for $100M.
- The exchange keeps voting rights despite a two-year transfer restriction on shares.
Binance is putting $100 million into Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, and extending its business deal with the company for another five years. The agreement gives Binance an equity stake in Circle and creates reasons for the exchange to push USDC’s use across its worldwide platform.
Circle said Binance bought 1,237,011 Class A common shares at $80.84 each in a private placement, generating approximately $100 million for Circle.
The transaction closed on September 17, and the two companies announced their expanded partnership on September 22. Binance can’t sell or transfer the shares for two years, but it still retains voting rights attached to them.
Interestingly, the bigger part of the deal might be the five-year business arrangement. Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive based on the amount of USDC held through Binance’s wallets, and Binance will push USDC across its platform and integrate it into its products and services.
According to the two companies, the expanded partnership will focus especially on making USDC more accessible in emerging markets.
This creates a clear financial incentive for Binance to drive USDC usage and holdings on its platform. For Circle, the partnership provides access to one of the world’s largest exchanges and a vast global user base.
The Push for Mass USDC Adoption
The announcement is yet another example of how stablecoins are moving past their old role as just crypto trading tools. USDC is now being pitched for payments, settlement, and other financial uses, while Circle has been building out the infrastructure around it.
For instance, Circle’s recently launched Arc blockchain is built specifically for payments, settlement, and on-chain financial markets, with USDC used as the native token for gas fees.
Binance has also been expanding its own USDC infrastructure. On September 16, the exchange finished integrating USDC on Arc, letting users deposit the stablecoin on Circle’s new network.
Binance said cumulative on-chain USDC volume topped $100 trillion as of September 12. However, it’s worth noting that the total isn’t the same as USDC’s current market cap (roughly $74.63 billion) or the actual value moved in unique payments.
Related: Binance Faces U.S. Probe Over Possible Iran Sanctions Violations
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