Binance Ties Up with Circle for Five Years, $100M Investment

Binance has invested $100 million in Circle equity as part of a revised partnership agreement. The deal also includes a five-year contract under which Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee based on USDC held through its Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure.

The investment was made through a private placement of Class A common stock at a price reflecting a 5% discount to Circle's market price before closing. This works out to almost exactly $100 million, with Binance buying 1,237,011 shares at $80.84 each.

According to Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, the investment and five-year term represent 'long-duration conviction'. The partnership is expected to expand dollar access across emerging markets, where USDC is weakest in comparison to other stablecoins like USDT.