Gemini (GEMI): A Compliance-First Crypto Exchange

Crypto Compliance and the Institutional Shift

As cryptocurrencies are becoming more mainstream and accepted by financial institutions, the ‘rebel aura’ of the sector is slowly fading away.

On one hand, this can be seen as the crypto industry betraying its initial promises of representing an alternative to the established fiat currencies and financial systems.

On the other hand, it makes sense that as crypto progresses in both adoption and importance, more regulation and intervention by the state will occur.

In that context, some crypto exchanges are better positioned than others, as they have a greater focus on compliance with financial regulations and interaction with large financial institutions.

A strong example is Gemini (Gemini Space Station – (GEMI +1.7%), which describes itself in fitting terms:

“As a trusted bridge between the traditional financial system and the emerging cryptoeconomy, we are providing access for individuals and institutions to a decentralized future that is more open, fair, and secure.”

The company has just been authorized to be active in US prediction markets, boosting its stock price significantly on the news. This represents a solid victory for the company’s strategy of high-quality compliance, while not compromising its crypto credentials.

Gemini Exchange Overview

History

The crypto exchange Gemini was first announced in 2013 and launched in 2015, and was created by the twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, famous for their lawsuit against Facebook for having “stolen their idea and code”, a lawsuit ultimately settled with a large payment to the Winklevoss brothers.

Both are still at the helm of the company as CEO and President, respectively.

Source: Bloomberg

Gemini was the first licensed Ethereum exchange based in the United States as early as 2016.

In 2017, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) started using Gemini to settle its Bitcoin futures contracts, although it later stopped listing Bitcoin futures in 2019, before restarting later on.

Generally, Gemini has always favored an approach of getting closer and emulating established financial institutions, moving away from the more tech-focused “break things and move fast” approach often preferred by its competitors.

For example, Gemini began to utilize NASDAQ’s SMARTS technology in 2018 to monitor trades and combat fraudulent activity and price manipulation on its exchange. In the same years, it also received approval to launch its stablecoin Gemini dollar (GUSD) (see more below).

In 2020, Gemini launched a partnership with Samsung so smartphone users could link their Samsung Blockchain Wallets to their Gemini accounts to view balances and transfer crypto.

In September 2025, the company closed its IPO at a public offering price of $28.00 per share (above current prices in December 2025) under the ticker $GEMI.

Gemini By the Numbers

In December, Gemini reported trading volumes of up to $100M per day (approximately 1,000 BTC). The platform custodies up to $7.6 billion in client assets, primarily Bitcoin and Ethereum, rather than holding these assets on its own corporate balance sheet.

Source: CoinMarketCap

As a crypto exchange, Gemini is usually ranked in the top 20-30 globally by volume, but also given a #5-#8 ranking for quality/score, thanks to higher security and better compliance with regulations. It was even ranked among the “Best crypto exchanges of 2024” by Forbes alongside Kraken, Crypto.com, and Coinbase, among others.

In total, over 70 cryptocurrencies are available on Gemini and 21 crypto-to-crypto trading pairs.

Building Trust Through Safety

The recognition by financial institutions and large corporations matches Gemini’s branding not as a crypto exchange, but as the “trusted crypto-native finance platform” and as a “trusted bridge between the traditional financial system and the emerging cryptoeconomy”.

Another mantra of the company is equally going in the opposite direction of most tech startups:

“Ask for permission, not forgiveness”.

This focus on security allowed the company to earn  ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 certifications.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is required by default, and address allowlisting allows users to restrict cryptocurrency withdrawals to allowlisted cryptocurrency addresses.

This reputation and certifications help Gemini build a bridge with institutional investors for Gemini spot and derivatives trading, custody, and “eOTC” (eOTC, Gemini’s automated Over-The-Counter trading platform).

It offers hedge funds “tight spreads, deep liquidity, and fast execution are available across multiple products, accessing both spot and derivatives trading.”

Gemini is also a partner for building crypto-related ETFs or closed-end funds, optimizing trade execution, settlement, custody, and other capital markets services, for example, having helped launch in December 2025 VanEck’s Solana ETF.

Gemini Products and Revenue Drivers

Cryptos

Gemini offers all the crypto services you can expect from a major crypto exchange.

This includes the possibility to buy major cryptos(Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, etc.), with streamlined research, alerts, and news. It is also possible to manage a crypto strategy with automated recurring buys and the “ActiveTrader” tool, all with low fees with volume-based tiers.

A wallet for self-custody, able to handle multiple chains, setting up with FaceID or TouchID, as well as an “Invest” tab. The wallet supports several chains/networks: Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, Base, and Optimism.

Tokenized Stocks and On-Chain Equities

Besides crypto, users of Gemini can access tokenized stocks, including some of the world’s largest tech companies.

This process of tokenization allows customers to keep their entire financial life on-chain while still investing in traditional stocks. The system also has zero trading fees.

It offers around-the-clock trading, fractional shares, and provides access to these stocks from the EU with no US broker required. The system functions through a 1:1 backing by real shares and ERC-20 tokens.

These tokenized stocks are currently available to non-U.S. users, primarily in the EU, and are not offered to U.S. retail investors due to regulatory constraints.

Gemini Card

Gemini Card is a credit card that can earn up to 4% on every purchase, either in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies available on Gemini.

It was launched in 2021 in partnership with Mastercard.

Our focus with digital currencies isn’t really about getting more people into crypto but giving them the option if they are interested — and demystifying it so they can take advantage of a full range of choices.

Jess Turner – Executive vice president, New Digital Infrastructure & Fintech, MasterCard

Gemini dollar (GUSD)

Stablecoins are there to provide a bridge between cryptos and fiat currencies, usually by creating a 1:1 equivalence in crypto to a USD reserve. GUSD is playing a role in this ecosystem.

This has been a market so far dominated by a few players, with USDT (tether) and UDSC accumulating tens or hundreds of billions of US dollars of value.

In comparison, GUSD is a relative failure, as its market cap is only $240M, making it not only the #7 stablecoin by market cap, but almost 1,000x smaller than Tether.

However, Gemini’s GUSD regulatory clarity could appeal more than alternatives to compliance-focused treasury teams and institutional payments requiring banking-grade safeguards.

So if these institutions start to use stablecoins a lot more, this could benefit Gemini greatly.

Crypto Staking Services

The company offers a staking option, a strategy that allows users to hold crypto to earn rewards with cryptos like Ether, Solana, and Monad.

The system has no minimums and no transfer fees. It leverages an essential feature of proof of stake (PoS) protocols, which differ from the Proof of Work (PoW) used by protocols like Bitcoin.

While certainly not a unique feature of Gemini, it is a nice-to-have feature to add to the rest of its ecosystem to keep its users from needing another provider.

Perpetuals

Perpetual contracts, also available on Gemini, are similar to a crypto futures contract. But they differ in the sense that they have no expiry date, like a normal future (both crypto and traditional futures).

These financial tools give traders the possibility to gain exposure to a cryptoasset without having to hold it.

These trades can be long or short, and use a variety of assets as collateral, for example, Bitcoin or USDC. Gemini offers up to 100x leverage for these trades, although  10x is the default leverage level for retail clients. Note that, leverage limits vary by jurisdiction, with significantly lower caps applied to U.S. retail users due to regulatory requirements.

Web3 / NFT

Gemini’s Nifty Gateway Studio helps creator bring their work on the blockchain, including by creating unique collectibles, IPs, etc.

It includes an NFT marketplace with 28,000+ items.

Gemini Earn

The service was suspended in November 2022 and ended two months later. This was because Genesis, the sole counterparty for the Earn program, stopped all withdrawals and new loans, following the collapse of the FTX exchange.

By June 2024, the final Earn distributions were now available in the company’s users’ accounts.

This allowed Gemini to enter into an agreement to settle the lawsuit the New York Attorney General had brought against the company, accusing it of misrepresenting the risks to its users.

With a 237% recovery ($1 billion more in value) from when Genesis halted withdrawals, this final payment removes a black mark on Gemini’s history, caught in a major crypto collapse not directly related to the company.

Gemini Prediction Markets

Regulatory Challenges and Legal Resolution

In 2022 and 2023, the company faced a series of lawsuits by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)for misrepresentation of their products.

In 2025, Gemini reached a preliminary settlement with the SEC regarding this issue.

In January 2025, it also paid a $5 million penalty to resolve the case with the CFTC, likely clearing the way for the recent approval in prediction markets by the same regulator.

So overall, Gemini is getting over most of its legal troubles with regulators in 2025.

Entry Into Prediction Markets

Gemini’s affiliate, Gemini Titan LLC, has received approval from the U.S to operate as a Designated Contract Market (DCM).

This gives it the opportunity to offer regulated prediction markets to U.S. customers. This was the end of a five-year licensing process and the beginning of “a new chapter for the exchange”.

“Prediction markets have the potential to be as big or bigger than traditional capital markets.

For example, “Will 1 bitcoin end this year higher than $200k?” Yes or no. Or, “Will Elon Musk’s X end up paying the full $140 million fine to the European Commission in 2026?” Yes or no.”

The news was very welcomed by the market, with a surge in Gemini’s stock price, not for the news itself, but as a sign of the company’s approach to compliance with regulations being successful. It was a welcome respite, as the IPO was unlucky to have coincided with a period of turmoil for crypto markets.

This approval is part of a larger turn toward a positive attitude toward the crypto world by the White House, something that the company CEO has directly acknowledged:

“We thank President Trump for ending the Biden Administration’s War on Crypto and Acting Chairman Pham for her hard work and dedication to help realize President Trump’s vision for making America the crypto capital of the world.

It’s incredibly refreshing and invigorating to have a President and a financial regulator who are pro crypto, pro innovation, and pro America.”

Tyler Winklevoss – Gemini’s CEO

This puts Gemini alongside other giants of the sector like Kalshi (which is regulated) and Polymarket (which provides access to offshore users without  U.S. authorization).

As a market with more open questions than traditional markets (or crypto), prediction markets are sitting mid-way between betting and traditional financial markets.

Gemini describes this as an additional step, part of a broader effort to build a “one-stop financial super app.”

Conclusion

Crypto has for a long time been a sort of far-west of finance, where the focus was on innovation first, and respecting regulations later.

In part, this was simply because the existing legacy rules were just not a match for an innovation like blockchain, and the regulators have been slow to react. At the same time, it was an outshoot of the Silicon Valley ethos of taking risks, breaking things sometimes, and asking for forgiveness later.

But what works for a smartphone app or other software can be a lot trickier for something as heavily regulated and important as money.

So even if some among the crypto enthusiasts will see it as a betrayal of the initial promise, it was probably unavoidable that some level of “normalization” would occur to blockchain in general, and cryptos in particular.

Gemini and its founders have understood this trend early and positioned themselves accordingly. In a world where major banks and investment firms are opening Bitcoin and Solana ETFs, crypto credit cards, etc, legacy financial institutions are looking for partners to embrace this new world, with Gemini already helping the most reactive ones.

In the past few years, it seems that even its compliance-first approach has not avoided situations where Gemini fell in hot water with the regulators.

With settlements and small penalties paid, its IPO, and recent approval for a prediction market, the company seems to have firmly put behind this era, to embrace a role as a prominent actor in making cryptos mainstream, even if it means taming it a little, so they can embrace their role as an alternative currency.

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