Binance bought $100 million of Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) stock in a private placement and signed a five-year agreement to promote USDC.
Both companies announced it on Tuesday with an 8-K filing, putting the purchase at 1,237,011 Class A shares at $80.84 each. The agreements were signed on September 17, and the share sale closed the same day, according to the filing, at a five percent discount to CRCL’s market price before closing. The stock closed at $85.09 that day and $94.49 on Monday.
Circle
@binance
Circle and Binance are continuing to build together through a new five-year commercial agreement to expand USDC access across emerging markets.
Binance has also made a $100M strategic investment in Circle.https://t.co/I0CIUBUoCZ pic.twitter.com/zQ9f9EiYTk
— Circle (@circle) September 22, 2026
Not Selling For Up To Two Years
Binance agreed not to sell, transfer or hedge the shares for up to two years and keep its voting rights. Also the new agreement “supersedes and replaces” contracts signed in November 2024 and August 2025, the filing states. Circle and Binance first partnered in December 2024, when Binance agreed to hold USDC in its corporate treasury and offer it to 240 million users.
Circle’s IPO prospectus later disclosed a one-time $60.25 million fee paid to Binance under that deal, plus monthly incentives on USDC held on its platform and in treasury. The treasury fees applied only while Binance held at least 1.5 billion USDC, and Binance agreed to keep 3 billion there (subject to exceptions). Both arrangements had two-year terms.
An August 2025 agreement superseded the non-treasury side of that deal and tied fees to USDC held through Circle’s Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure service, on a four-year term. The new deal keeps that structure, with Circle paying a monthly fee set as a percentage of USDC held through the service.
Likewise, Circle’s annual report put the 2025 rise in Binance-related distribution costs at $152.1 million. Distribution and transaction costs ran $410.4 million in the second quarter, $324.6 million of it to Coinbase.
Teng Cites Arc and Emerging Markets
Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, said 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,” and that the investment and five-year term “represent long-duration conviction.”
Circle launched Arc’s public mainnet on September 16 with Binance among more than 100 participants.
Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Circle, called Binance “the most widely used wallet in the world for dollar stablecoins” and said the partners would use USDC “to expand dollar access” and “reach people and businesses throughout global emerging markets.”
Binance has also had its fair run. The exchange reported 323 million registered users at its ninth anniversary in July.
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