Two of the biggest names in crypto are putting aside their long-standing rivalry, and will now work together to grab a bigger piece of the fast-growing stablecoin pie. On Wednesday morning in Abu Dhabi, Binance and Circle announced a strategic alliance that will see them promote USDC, a digital token backed 1:1 by the U.S. dollar that is jointly owned by Circle and Coinbase. All of this comes at a time when stablecoins are fast becoming part of mainstream finance, and as more competitors are seeking to challenge market leader Tether.
Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, used to be a major player in the stablecoin market with its native BUSD coin reaching a market cap of around $23 billion. The company, however, faced major pressure from regulators over an alleged lack of compliance, forcing it to wind down BUSD in late 2023. During this period, Circle frequently criticized both Binance and Tether as wildcat operations.
