Binance is investing $100 million in stablecoin issuer Circle as part of a five-year deal calling for the world's largest crypto exchange to promote Circle's flagship USDC on its platform.
Shares of Circle rose more than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday.
The agreement signals a push to expand USDC beyond its historically U.S.-focused base and compete more directly with stablecoin giant Tether in international crypto markets. Under terms of the deal, USDC gains access to Binance's large global user base in exchange for Circle paying Binance "a monthly incentive fee" tied to USDC balances.
Aligning its financial interests with USDC growth, Binance agreed to buy $100 million of Circle shares at $80.84 each, subject to a lockup of as long as two years, with some exceptions.
"Binance has built one of the largest and most dynamic platforms in the world for using digital currency, creating the internet's largest financial super app, and becoming the most widely used wallets in the world for dollar stablecoins," Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement. "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 expansion
Circle has been trying to build a business beyond issuing USDC — launching its Arc blockchain last week and pushing into nanopayments and agentic commerce — but the company still needs USDC to drive that expansion. By putting it in front of Binance's wide base of users, Circle is betting its flagship product can gain ground internationally and help build out other parts of the business.
"Circle has earned its place as one of the most credible issuers in the world spanning USDC, Arc and the infrastructure reshaping how value moves across borders," Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said in a statement. With the latest partnership, Binance is "helping to build a more inclusive, transparent and compliant digital economy. A stable, trusted digital dollar should not be a privilege — it should be available to anyone with a phone. That's the future this partnership is designed to deliver."
Circle's USDC and Tether's USDT stablecoins aim to serve as digital versions of the U.S. dollar, keeping a stable 1-to-1 value with the dollar, but have taken different paths to win users and financial partners.
USDT remains larger, with roughly $183 billion in circulation versus about $75 billion for USDC, according to CryptoQuant, and has a strong international trading presence. USDC, meanwhile, has built its pitch around regulated markets, transparency and payments. The fight between the two is ultimately a battle over which becomes the default for global crypto trading, payments and finance.
