On September 17, Binance acquired 1.24 million shares of Circle at $80.84 per share for a total of $100 million—significantly below the market price (Circle shares were trading around $100 at the time). The deal was disclosed in Circle’s financial report.
On the same day, the companies extended their commercial agreement on the USDC stablecoin for five years—replacing the previous agreements from 2024 and 2025. Circle will pay Binance a monthly fee that depends on the volume of USDC held on the exchange, while Binance, in return, will promote USDC by integrating the stablecoin into its products and reducing fees on trading pairs involving it.
On the same day, September 17, the U.S. regulator CFTC submitted new rules for the market for consideration. And on September 21, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Binance for violating Iranian sanctions. As a result, Circle has become a shareholder of an exchange that is now under investigation.