Binance purchased $100 million worth of shares in USDC issuer Circle while signing a new five-year agreement between the companies. Under the deal, the crypto exchange will promote the USDC stablecoin on its platform and receive compensation for doing so.
According to an SEC filing, Circle sold Binance 1.24 million Class A shares at $80.84 apiece. The transaction closed on September 17. Circle said the price was below the market value of its shares before the sale.
At the same time, Binance will not be able to freely dispose of the shares. The exchange is prohibited from selling, transferring, or hedging them for two years, or until the commercial agreements are terminated early under certain conditions. Binance will retain voting rights attached to the shares.
The companies also expanded their existing USDC partnership. Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee based on the amount of USDC held through the Modular Smart Contract Wallet service. In return, Binance has agreed to carry out promotional and marketing activities in support of the stablecoin.
Not the first agreement between the companies
The new agreement replaces previous arrangements between Circle and Binance from November 2024 and August 2025. The partnership is set to run for five years, although either side can terminate it earlier if certain conditions are met. The specific termination terms have not been disclosed.
Circle shares were sold through an unregistered private placement. This further limits Binance’s ability to resell the shares unless the transaction is registered or an applicable exemption is available.
Why Binance no longer has its own stablecoin
Binance previously promoted BUSD, which was widely perceived by the market as the exchange’s own stablecoin. However, the token was issued not by Binance but by U.S.-based Paxos. In 2023, after regulatory pressure, Paxos stopped issuing new BUSD, while Binance gradually wound down support for the token and shifted users toward other dollar-backed stablecoins.
Since then, the exchange has not launched a full replacement for BUSD under its own brand. Binance has instead focused on third-party tokens, including FDUSD and USDC, reducing the regulatory risks associated with issuing a stablecoin itself. The new Circle deal reinforces that model: rather than creating its own token, Binance is taking a stake in the issuer of USDC and earning money from promoting it.
Earlier, Circle began offering USDC loans backed by Bitcoin.
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