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Gemini runs a regulated cryptocurrency exchange where people and institutions buy, sell, and store digital assets like bitcoin and ether.
Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange — a place where people go to buy, sell, and hold digital coins like bitcoin and ether. Founded by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, it pitches itself as the "grown-up" venue for crypto: heavily regulated, audited, and aimed at people who want a trustworthy on-ramp into a market famous for scams and blowups.
The core business is matching buyers and sellers and taking a cut of each trade. Customers pay trading fees, and Gemini also earns from custody — safely storing customers' coins — plus staking, where it puts idle crypto to work and shares the rewards. It sells to everyday retail investors but increasingly chases institutions and asset managers who need a compliant venue. Its main rivals are other big exchanges like Coinbase, and its biggest vulnerability is the same as everyone's in this industry: trading volume collapses when crypto prices crash and enthusiasm cools. Gemini's distinguishing bet has been regulatory seriousness. It was an early adopter of strict rules, offers insurance on some assets, and holds customer funds separately. That costs money and slows it down, but it is the pitch for winning trust — and trust is the scarce commodity in crypto. The company went public on Nasdaq, which gave it a public currency and scrutiny to match its compliance-first branding.
The whole business rises and falls with crypto sentiment: bull markets bring floods of trading fees, bear markets dry them up. Gemini has also faced real headwinds — a rocky relationship with a partner that froze customer funds in a lending program, and the need to diversify beyond plain trading into staking and institutional services. It is essentially a bet that crypto becomes mainstream finance, with Gemini as the regulated, buttoned-up venue where that happens.
Saved answer · last researched 4 Nov 2026