Binance Invests Heavily in Circle, Expands USDC Distribution

Circle has secured a $100 million investment from Binance and a five-year commercial agreement to increase USDC distribution, pitting it against Tether.

The deal gives Circle another channel as it competes with Tether in the stablecoin market. The agreement comes while USDC remains the second-largest dollar stablecoin behind Tether's USDT, with a market capitalization of around $75 billion compared to USDT's approximately $183 billion.

Binance bought 1.24 million Circle shares at $80.84 each through a private placement transaction completed on September 17. The company will pay Binance monthly incentives linked to qualifying USDC balances held through its Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure service.