Binance, Circle Deepen Partnership Amid Stablecoin Growth

Binance is expanding its partnership with Circle by investing $100 million in the company and signing a five-year agreement to promote the use of USDC, a stablecoin issued by Circle. The deal includes incentives tied to USDC usage on Binance's infrastructure, which will pay Circle a monthly fee based on the amount of USDC held through the exchange's Modular Smart Contract Wallet.

Meanwhile, Canada's six largest banks are exploring tokenized Canadian dollar deposits, with the goal of enabling faster and programmable payments between participating banks. The project aims to start with transfers between the participating banks and may connect to other digital asset networks later. Importantly, regulatory treatment is clear: tokenized deposits will not be legally distinct from traditional deposits.

Stablecoins continue to gain momentum, particularly in cross-border usage. According to Chainalysis data, cross-border stablecoin flows rose nearly 78% year-over-year to $220.3 billion through June, while the total crypto market cap dropped 37%. The growth is attributed to transfers averaging around $3,000, aligning with use cases like trade, remittances, and savings.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Blockchain are teaming up to bring tokenized US stocks and exchange-traded funds to crypto users through a planned alternative trading system. The partnership includes a market-data partnership between Blockchain and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange's ICE Data Services. Tokenized markets enable 24-hour and weekend trading, which could capture retail trading activity.