TLDR
- Binance invested $100 million in Circle and signed a new five-year deal to promote USDC.
- Binance bought 1.24 million Circle shares at $80.84 each through a private placement.
- USDC market capitalization sat near $75 billion while Tether’s USDT stayed above $183 billion.
- USDC-quoted spot markets on Binance grew from 140 to 329 since the original 2024 partnership.
- Circle is also expanding payment infrastructure through its planned $400 million purchase of Tazapay.
Circle has struck a new deal with Binance that could help its stablecoin USDC gain ground against rival Tether. The agreement includes a $100 million investment and a five-year commercial partnership focused on distribution.
Circle 🤝 @binance
Circle and Binance are continuing to build together through a new five-year commercial agreement to expand USDC access across emerging markets.
Binance has also made a $100M strategic investment in Circle.https://t.co/I0CIUBUoCZ pic.twitter.com/zQ9f9EiYTk
— Circle (@circle) September 22, 2026
Circle confirmed the news on September 22. The company said Binance purchased shares of its Class A common stock and renewed their USDC partnership for another five years.
The deal builds on a relationship that started in late 2024. Since then, USDC activity on Binance has grown a lot.
How The Deal Works
Binance bought 1,237,011 shares at $80.84 each. That price was a discount compared to Circle’s market value before the deal closed. The private placement brought in $100 million and closed on September 17.
Binance can vote with its shares, but it agreed not to sell, transfer or hedge them for up to two years, with some exceptions. Under the commercial side of the deal, Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive based on USDC balances held through Circle’s wallet infrastructure.
Either side can end the agreement early if certain conditions are met. This new deal replaces earlier agreements from November 2024 and August 2025.
USDC Still Trails Tether
USDC remains the second-largest dollar-backed stablecoin. Data from CoinGecko showed its market capitalization at roughly $75.3 billion on September 23, up slightly from $73.6 billion the week before.
Tether is still far ahead. Its market value stood near $183.8 billion on September 26, with daily trading volume close to $69 billion.
Analysts say Binance’s distribution could help USDC grow, especially in emerging markets. But they also caution that Tether’s long history and deep liquidity make it hard to overtake quickly.
Binance has already become one of the biggest venues for trading USDC. The exchange handled between $5 billion and $10 billion in USDC spot trading per day during 2026, according to Kaiko data. That is far more than most other exchanges.
The number of USDC trading pairs on Binance has also jumped. There were 39 in 2021, growing to 140 by late 2024, and now sitting at 329.
Circle has been expanding elsewhere too. It grew its partnership with OKX to cover USDC trading across spot, margin and futures markets.
The company is also pushing into payments. On September 8, Circle announced a deal to acquire Tazapay, a cross-border payment company based in Singapore.
The Tazapay deal is valued at $400 million in stock and is expected to close in 2027, pending regulatory approval. Tazapay processes more than $25 billion in yearly payment volume, and stablecoins make up about 60% of that activity.
Circle also launched a new blockchain called Arc on September 16. Arc uses USDC for transaction fees and started with validators including BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard and DTCC.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the investment reflects long-term confidence in Circle and USDC. Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire called Binance one of the largest platforms for dollar stablecoin use.
The renewed partnership is expected to expand USDC’s reach through Binance’s global user base in the months ahead.
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