Binance and Circle have signed a new five-year commercial agreement, with Binance investing $100 million in Circle shares to promote and integrate USDC across its platform. The deal gives Binance a direct stake in Circle’s growth while expanding USDC’s distribution through one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, adding pressure to Tether’s long-held lead in dollar-denominated stablecoins. Since the companies first partnered in December 2024, Binance’s USDC-quoted spot markets have increased from 140 to 329, while monthly USDC trading volume has risen from the $20 billion-$40 billion range to consistently above $80 billion. Kaiko said Binance has captured the largest share of USDC spot trading activity throughout 2026, processing $5 million-$10 billion in daily volume, roughly 10 to 20 times more than most other venues. USDT remains substantially larger, with a market capitalization of about $140 billion versus roughly $74 billion for USDC. Circle is also expanding beyond stablecoin issuance through its Circle Payments Network and a recently announced $400 million acquisition of Singapore-based Tazapay, while Visa, Mastercard and Stripe increase their activity in stablecoin payments and infrastructure.