Launch Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss announced Gemini in June 2013 and the company went live on October 25, 2015. Gemini began facilitating the purchase and storage of
Bitcoin through a system of
private keys and password-protected environments. Gemini holds a Limited Purpose Trust Charter from the
New York Department of Financial Services, granted in October 2015. Gemini subsequently expanded the financial services it offers, including
FIX and
API support. On May 5, 2016, Governor
Andrew Cuomo of New York State announced the approval of Gemini as the first
licensed U.S.-based
Ethereum exchange. Additionally, in 2016, Gemini announced that it would allow users to withdraw
Ethereum Classic (ETC) from the exchange following a
hard fork in
Ethereum's code.
Development In October 2017, Gemini announced that it allowed registered users to withdraw
Bitcoin Cash from the exchange provided they had a balance available on the exchange before the Bitcoin hard fork in August 2017. In December 2017, the
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) began to use Gemini to settle its Bitcoin
futures contracts. CBOE partnered with Gemini so as to use Gemini's dollar denominated auction price for these contracts. In March 2019, CBOE announced they would stop listing Bitcoin futures. In April 2018, Gemini began offering "Block Trading". Block Trading enables Gemini users to buy and sell large quantities of digital assets outside of Gemini's continuous order books, creating an additional liquidity mechanism when trading in greater size. Also in April, Gemini began to utilize
NASDAQ's SMARTS technology to monitor trades and combat fraudulent activity and
price manipulation on its exchange. On May 14, 2018, the New York Department of Financial Services announced it had approved Gemini to offer
Zcash (ZEC) on their platform, becoming the first licensed exchange to offer trading and custody services for it. On September 10, 2018, Gemini had received regulatory approval for a new product, the Gemini dollar (GUSD) from the NYDFS and would launch trading of the
coin that same day. Gemini described the product as a
stablecoin which maintains a 1-to-1
peg with the
American dollar. On October 3, 2018, it was announced that Gemini had obtained digital asset
insurance covering
tokens and coins held on its exchange. The insurance had been
brokered by
Aon, a London-based public
risk consulting company, and underwritten by a consortium of global
underwriters. In November 2019, the Gemini Trust Co. bought
Nifty Gateway for an undisclosed sum. Nifty Gateway is a marketplace for
NFTs. The goal of the NFT marketplace is to be a custodian for various assets, including property deeds, passports, commodities, collectibles, videogame characters, movies, music and event tickets. In May 2020, a partnership was announced with
Samsung whereby Samsung smartphone users could link their Samsung Blockchain Wallets to their Gemini accounts to view balances and transfer crypto. In February 2021, Gemini announced that Gemini Earn, in partnership with cryptocurrency broker Genesis, would offer a 7.4% return on customer deposits. In November 2021, Gemini raised a $400 million investment that values the New York parent company, Gemini Space Station, LLC, at $7.1 billion.
Regulatory issues and international expansion On June 2, 2022, the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a suit against Gemini based on alleged misrepresentation of the company's exchange and futures contracts during 2017 meetings with the CFTC. The suit is seeking to block Gemini and its affiliates from trading commodities and getting further investments, in addition to monetary fines. Also on June 2 Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss announced they would be
laying off 10% of the company staff, citing a "contraction phase" known as "crypto winter" in the cryptocurrency industry. On January 12, 2023, the
Securities and Exchange Commission charged Gemini Trust Company with the unregistered offer and sale of securities to retail investors through the
Gemini Earn crypto asset lending program. As part of the same action, the SEC also charged
Genesis Global Capital, a subsidiary of
Digital Currency Group, which held approximately $900 million in investor assets from 340,000 Gemini Earn customers. Gemini Earn was shut down in January 2023, following Genesis suspending withdrawals in November 2022. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against both Gemini and Genesis. On February 6, 2023, Genesis Global Holdco announced an agreement in principle with
Digital Currency Group and creditors of Genesis Global Capital, including Gemini. Gemini will contribute "up to $100 million in cash" to the restructuring and recovery agreement. In May 2023, Gemini announced that
Dublin, Ireland would be the location for the company's headquarters in Europe. However, in January 2025, Gemini moved its European headquarters from Dublin to
Malta citing difference in present-day regulatory landscape. In January 2024, Gemini received crypto registration in France, allowing the company to provide service in the country.The CFTC sued Gemini in 2022. It faced allegations of misleading the U.S. regulator. == 2023 New York lawsuit ==