Circle shares rose nearly 2% in premarket trading Tuesday after Binance bought a $100 million stake in the USDC issuer and expanded a commercial partnership designed to push the stablecoin to more users worldwide.
Binance purchased 1,237,011 Class A Circle shares at $80.84 each through a private placement. The investment accompanies a new five-year agreement centered on promoting USDC across Binance’s ecosystem.
The deal gives Circle something potentially more valuable than the equity investment itself: deeper distribution through one of the world’s largest crypto trading platforms.
Binance Is Making a Bigger USDC Bet
Under the agreement, Binance will expand USDC across trading, savings and investment products while encouraging adoption in emerging markets. Circle will also pay Binance a monthly fee linked to USDC balances held through Binance’s wallet infrastructure.
That is a striking reversal from 2022, when Binance removed many USDC trading products while prioritizing BUSD.
Now Binance is not only promoting USDC, it owns part of the company behind it.
Why the Deal Matters for Circle Stock
Circle’s economics depend heavily on how much USDC exists in circulation.
The company earns most of its revenue from interest on the assets backing USDC. In the second quarter, reserve income represented more than 95% of Circle’s total revenue, making growth in stablecoin balances particularly important for shareholders. That relationship is explained in more detail in how stablecoin issuers make money from reserves.
The Binance partnership could therefore matter financially if it results in larger USDC balances and more transaction activity.
Circle has already been gaining regulatory ground. CRCL previously rose after Circle secured a New York trust charter, while USDC could also benefit from the growing use of stablecoins as settlement assets for tokenized U.S. stocks.
