Binance deal gives Circle a boost in stablecoin race with Tether, analysts say
The five-year deal could strengthen USDC’s reach in emerging markets, though Tether’s liquidity advantage remains hard to dislodge, analysts told CoinDesk.
Circle’s expanded deal with Binance could give USDC USDC$0.9998 more traction in emerging markets and global trading, analysts said, while putting some additional pressure on Tether’s long-held lead in the dollar-denominated stablecoin race.
Binance invested $100 million in Circle CRCL$87.37·Market Closed shares and signed a new five-year commercial agreement to promote and integrate USDC across its platform. The arrangement gives Binance a direct stake in Circle’s growth while giving Circle wider distribution through one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges.
“This optimizes the relationship and further aligns Binance's interests with Circle's, echoing Circle-Coinbase's distributor-shareholder model,” Clear Street analyst Owen Lau told CoinDesk.
“As Binance accelerates USDC's reach in emerging markets, that dominance is likely to grow even further,” Melachrinos said.