Binance takes $100M stake in Circle under expanded USDC deal

Binance has invested $100 million in stablecoin issuer Circle as part of an expanded five-year agreement to promote USDC on the crypto exchange.Circle issued Binance 1,237,011 shares of its Class A common stock at $80.84 per share in a private placement on Sept. 17, according to a Tuesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The purchase price reflected a discount to Circle’s market price before the transaction closed.New York Stock Exchange-traded CRCL shares were up more than 1.3% in Tuesday’s premarket activity after closing Monday at $94.29 apiece, according to Yahoo Finance data.Under the agreement, Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee based on the amount of USDC held through Circle’s Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure. Binance also agreed to undertake additional activities promoting USDC on its platform.Binance has agreed not to sell, transfer, assign, pledge or hypothecate the Circle shares for up to two years. The restriction could end earlier if Binance terminates the commercial agreement under certain conditions. Binance retains voting rights over the shares during the lockup period.The arrangement replaces agreements the companies e...