Binance Buys $100 Million of Circle Stock at $80.84 a Share, Signs Five-Year USDC Promotion Deal

Circle Internet Group disclosed in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, September 22, 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. Both the stock sale and the commercial agreement closed on September 17, according to the filing, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

Deal Terms and Share Price

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, Yahoo Finance reported. Multiplying 1,237,011 shares by $80.84 per share comes to roughly $100 million (our calculation: 1,237,011 x $80.84 = approximately $99,999,969), consistent with the reported deal size.

According to Unchained Crypto, as cited by Yahoo Finance, the $80.84 purchase price was roughly 5% below Circle's September 17 closing price of $85.09. Our calculation using those two figures ($80.84 minus $85.09, divided by $85.09) puts the gap at approximately -5.0%, meaning Binance secured its shares at a discount to where Circle stock closed that day.

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

The Commercial Agreement's Economics

Under the commercial arrangement, Circle will pay Binance a monthly fee calculated as a portion of USDC balances held through the Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure service, in exchange for Binance promoting USDC on its platform, according to the filing as reported by Yahoo Finance. CNBC described the arrangement as USDC gaining access to Binance's large global user base in exchange for Circle paying Binance what CNBC called "a monthly incentive fee" tied to USDC balances. Either party can terminate the agreement early under specified circumstances.

The new agreement supersedes deals the two companies struck in November 2024 and August 2025, the filing said. According to Unchained Crypto, as cited by Yahoo Finance, the 2024 deal included a $60.25 million upfront payment to Binance plus monthly fees tied to USDC balances and ran for two years, compared with five years for the new pact.

USDC's Position Against Tether

Tether's USDT remains the larger stablecoin by circulation. CNBC reported, citing CryptoQuant, that USDT has roughly $183 billion in circulation versus about $75 billion for USDC. That gap amounts to $108 billion in our calculation ($183 billion minus $75 billion), or USDT circulating at roughly 144% more than USDC (our calculation: ($183 billion minus $75 billion) divided by $75 billion). CNBC noted USDT also has a strong international trading presence.

CNBC framed the agreement as a push to expand USDC beyond its historically U.S.-focused base and compete more directly with Tether in international crypto markets. CNBC also reported that Circle has been trying to build a business beyond issuing USDC, launching its Arc blockchain the prior week and pushing into nanopayments and agentic commerce, though the company still needs USDC growth to drive that expansion.

Executive Statements

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng characterized the investment as a long-term bet, saying in a statement reported by Yahoo Finance, "Our $100 million investment and five-year commitment represent long-duration conviction." Teng also framed the partnership around access, saying in a statement reported by both Yahoo Finance and CNBC, "A stable, trusted digital dollar should not be a privilege — it should be available to anyone with a phone."

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said, per CNBC, that 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." Allaire added that the companies 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," a quote also reported by Yahoo Finance.

Market Reaction and Context

Circle's stock reaction was muted across outlets. CNBC reported shares rose more than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday, while Yahoo Finance put the premarket gain closer to 2%. Investor's Business Daily reported that Circle stock briefly jumped more than 3% Tuesday before settling into a fractional decline during morning trading.

Investor's Business Daily also noted that the deal comes as the Justice Department and the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office reportedly probe Binance over alleged Iran-sanctions violations, a detail that adds context to the timing of the announcement without altering the terms of the disclosed transaction.

Bottom Line

Circle's filing lays out a concrete, dated transaction: a $100 million share purchase at $80.84 apiece, a two-year lock-up with voting rights intact, and a five-year commercial deal replacing shorter prior agreements with Binance. As described in the filing, the economics center on a monthly fee tied to USDC balances; the disclosed terms do not include an upfront payment comparable to the $60.25 million lump sum that Unchained Crypto, as cited by Yahoo Finance, reported in the 2024 arrangement. Whether the expanded partnership meaningfully narrows USDC's gap with Tether's larger circulating supply remains an open question, but the disclosed terms themselves are limited to what Circle's filing and the companies' public statements describe.