Binance invests $100 million in Circle, signs 5-year USDC deal

Binance invests $100 million in Circle, signs 5-year USDC deal

Tue, September 22, 2026 at 5:06 PM GMT+3 2 min read

Circle Internet Group disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that Binance purchased $100 million worth of Circle stock and entered into a new five-year agreement to promote USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin Circle issues.

The stock sale and commercial agreement both closed on September 17, the filing said. Binance paid $80.84 per share for 1,237,011 shares of Circle's Class A common stock, a price the filing characterized as below the market rate at the time of closing. According to Unchained Crypto, that price was roughly 5% below Circle's September 17 closing price of $85.09.

Under the commercial arrangement, the filing said, Circle will pay Binance a monthly fee calculated as a portion of USDC balances held through its Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure service, in exchange for Binance promoting USDC on its platform. Either party can terminate the agreement early under certain specified circumstances.

The new arrangement supersedes agreements the two companies reached in November 2024 and August 2025, the filing said. According to Unchained Crypto, the 2024 deal included a $60.25 million upfront payment to Binance plus monthly fees tied to its USDC balances and ran for two years; the new agreement runs for five.

The filing said Binance is prohibited from selling, pledging, or hedging its shares for a period of two years from closing, or until it exits the commercial deal under specified conditions, with standard carve-outs that cover affiliate transfers and legally mandated disposals. Binance's voting rights on those shares remain intact throughout the lock-up period.

"Our $100 million investment and five-year commitment represent long-duration conviction," Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, said in a statement. "A stable, trusted digital dollar should not be a privilege — it should be available to anyone with a phone."

"Together, we see incredible opportunities to leverage USDC to expand dollar access, support savings and investment with innovative digital asset products, and reach people and businesses throughout global emerging markets," Circle co-founder, chairman, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement.

Circle stock gained close to 2% in premarket trading Tuesday. USDC's total market cap stands at roughly $75 billion.