Gemini Exchange

What Is the Gemini Exchange?

Gemini is a global cryptocurrency exchange. Founded in 2014, the Gemini Exchange, also known as the Gemini Trust Company, is the brainchild of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the famous investors, twins, and Harvard classmates of Mark Zuckerberg.

Understanding the Gemini Exchange

The Winklevoss brothers announced the launch of Gemini in early 2014, although the exchange did not go live until October 2015.

As of Q2 2022, Gemini operates in more than 60 countries including the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Like other digital currency exchanges, Gemini allows users to buy and sell a variety of digital currencies, either with digital currency (for example, using bitcoin to buy litecoin) or using fiat currency like U.S. dollars to buy digital currencies.

Gemini Products

Gemini boasts a diverse range of products for small investors and advanced traders, offering features like charting and instant trades. Gemini Exchange is Gemini's platform for buying and selling cryptocurrency. It is available both through web browsers and as an app. The mobile app also includes the Gemini Wallet, which allows users to pay for goods using their crypto holdings.

For advanced traders, Gemini offers its Active Trader Platform. According to its website, the platform features "advanced charting, multiple order types, auctions, and block trading." They also claim to be able to execute orders in "microseconds," but that may depend on how you define "execute" and what kind of cryptocurrency you're trading.

The Gemini Custody product is both a cold storage system for assets held by Gemini and a "crypto-native finance platform." The custody product is unique in that it provides insurance coverage of $200 million for crypto holdings and is a fiduciary and custodian licensed under New York Banking law, making Gemini arguably the most secure crypto exchange that has ever existed. Gemini also is a clearinghouse for off-exchange trades.

Gemini Exchange Plans

The Gemini Exchange set itself apart in early May 2016 when it became the first licensed Ethereum exchange in the United States. In May 2018, Gemini became the world's first exchange to be licensed to offer Zcash trading as well. This announcement followed a report that Gemini began to offer block trading in April 2018, allowing users to buy and sell large orders of digital currencies outside of Gemini's usual order books. Block trading was implemented in order to create additional liquidity opportunities.

Gemini has expanded its partnerships with other organizations and companies. The most notable of these is Gemini's partnership with Nasdaq, announced in April 2018. Through this collaboration, Gemini can utilize Nasdaq's SMARTS technology in order to weed out fraudulent activity and manipulation of digital currency prices. Besides the Nasdaq partnership, Gemini also partnered with Caspian, the digital currency trading and risk-management service.

As with most digital currency exchanges, Gemini has seen its share of issues. In late November 2017, for instance, Gemini crashed for several hours in the wake of unusually high demands on its website. Rival exchange Coinbase also crashed around the same time. In response, Gemini representatives wrote on the company blog to indicate that "this is not the first scaling challenge we've encountered, and it won't be the last," adding that the exchange is "continuing to improve our performance and infrastructure monitoring so we can anticipate potential problems more quickly in the future."

Gemini has worked to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations regarding the sale and purchase of digital currencies. As such, the company markets itself as a "New York trust company regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services."

As of early 2021, the Winklevoss twins were considering taking the exchange public, whether it be via an initial public offering (IPO), direct listing, or special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger.