Binance invested 100 million USD in Circle and signed a five-year USDC promotion agreement

Binance invested 100 million dollars in Circle and purchased its shares, while signing a five-year commercial agreement to promote and integrate USDC on its platform. Analysts believe this collaboration provides USDC with stronger distribution channels in emerging markets and global trading, forming new competition against Tether's long-held dominance in the dollar stablecoin market. Clear Street analyst Owen Lau stated that this move optimizes the relationship between the two parties, aligning Binance's interests more closely with Circle, similar to Circle's distributor and shareholder model with Coinbase.

Since the initial collaboration between the two companies in December 2024, the trading volume of USDC on Binance has significantly expanded. Kaiko data shows that in the early stages of the partnership, Binance offered 140 spot markets quoted in USDC, which has now increased to 329, compared to an increase from 39 to 140 from 2021 to the end of 2024. Binance's monthly trading volume for USDC has also roughly doubled, rising from the previous range of 20 billion to 40 billion dollars to consistently above 80 billion dollars. Kaiko's research director Anastasia Melachrinos stated that by 2026, Binance will continue to hold the largest share in USDC spot trading, with daily trading volumes approximately 10 to 20 times that of most other trading platforms.