Binance acquired a $100 million equity stake in Circle as the two firms broadened their business partnership surrounding USDC, as revealed in a Tuesday 8-K regulatory document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The cryptocurrency exchange acquired 1,237,011 shares of Class A common stock in Circle at a price of $80.84 per share through a private placement, as stated in the filing. This purchase was finalized right after both entities executed the subscription contract and extended their commercial terms.
The stock purchase was finalized simultaneously with a fresh five-year business pact that increases the marketing of USDC maintained via Circle’s Modular Smart Contract Wallet network. Per the contract, Circle will distribute a monthly bonus fee to Binance calculated as a specific portion of the USDC balances maintained through the wallet platform.
This arrangement replaces previous contracts established by the organizations in 2024 and 2025. Either participant maintains individual cancellation privileges prior to the conclusion date under defined scenarios, according to the document.
At the same time, the Circle equities held by Binance face specific limitations. The trading platform is prohibited from disposing of, moving, or hedging these shares for a duration of two years, except if it cancels the business pact under particular conditions, subject to standard exemptions. Voting authority for the investment remains with the exchange throughout that timeframe.
This development arrives as Circle scales its USDC framework past the stablecoin framework. In the prior week, the New York-based enterprise deployed the public mainnet for Arc, its Layer 1 distributed ledger network, where USDC serves as the medium for network fees.
Circle reported that upwards of 100 decentralized programs were accessible at deployment, while its initial validator cohort features BlackRock, DTCC, ICE, Mastercard, and Visa.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-09-22-binance-takes-100-million-circle-stake-alongside-five-year-usdc-deal-416042.
