Latham & Watkins Advises Circle on Expanded Strategic Partnership With Binance and US$100 Million Investment

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL), a global internet financial platform, has announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Binance, operator of one of the world’s most widely used financial super apps. Under the new arrangements, Binance will accelerate the promotion, awareness, and integration of USDC on its platform, especially across emerging markets, and Circle will provide the infrastructure services that support holding and using USDC. Concurrently, Circle issued and sold US$100 million of Class A common stock to Binance in a private placement exempt from registration under the Securities Act, which further aligns the parties’ strategic relationship.

Latham & Watkins LLP advised Circle in the transaction with a corporate team led by New York partners Dan Gibbons, Marc Jaffe, and Jenny Cieplak, with associates Dylan Lojac, Raffi Teperdjian, and Jenny Li. Advice was also provided on financial regulatory matters by London partner Stuart Davis and New York partner Arthur Long; on sanctions and export controls matters by counsel Aaron Amundson, with associate Christine Kalpin; on regulatory matters by Washington, D.C. partner James Barker, and counsel Cate Behles,* with associate Asia Cadet; and on tax matters by New York partner Jared Grimley, with associate Dominick Constantino.

*Admitted to practice in California