Circle paid Binance $60.25 million to support its two-year USDC promotion and holding cooperation

Circle Submits IPO S-1 Filing to SEC, Revealing Binance as First Approved Participant in Stablecoin Ecosystem Protocol According to the IPO S-1 filing submitted by Circle to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in November 2024, Binance became the first approved participant under the stablecoin ecosystem protocol. Based on the cooperation agreement, Binance needs to promote USDC on its platform and hold a certain amount of USDC in its financial reserves. Circle paid Binance a one-time upfront fee of $60.25 million and agreed to pay monthly incentive fees based on the USDC balance held by Binance. Incentive fees will only be paid when Binance holds at least 1.5 billion USDC, and Binance commits to holding 3 billion USDC (with exceptions in specific circumstances). The cooperation is divided into market promotion and financial reserve components, both with a two-year term. If Binance terminates the market promotion agreement early, it still needs to fulfill one year of reduced-rate payments and promotion obligations. Both parties can terminate the agreement early under specific conditions.