Circle Pays Binance Every Month to Push USDC. Now Binance Owns $100M of Circle, and the Filing Landed the Same Day the Sanctions Probe Leaked
Binance bought 1,237,011 Circle shares at $80.84 each in a private placement that closed September 17, two days after Manhattan prosecutors filed to seize Iranian oil money that ran through Binance accounts. Circle disclosed it on September 22, the same day Bloomberg reported Binance is under federal investigation for Iran sanctions violations. The deal comes with a new five-year agreement where Circle pays Binance a monthly fee based on USDC balances. Here is how the money moves in both directions, and what the 8-K says about getting out.