What is Gemini?
Gemini is a privately owned crypto exchange platform/app that allows customers to buy, sell, trade, and store bitcoin, ether, and roughly 40 other cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2015 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. For casual investors and hard-core traders, Gemini offers a tiered service with various interfaces and fee structures. It has its own currency, the Gemini dollar, as well as a mobile app and a payment app. The Gemini dollar, unlike most cryptocurrencies, is a “stable coin” connected to the US dollar.
Gemini, with the formal name, Gemini Trust Co., is a direct rival to Coinbase and Kraken, two popular cryptocurrency exchanges.
An Overview
Gemini, as any astrologer knows, is the sign of twins and duality. However, the Gemini name here is in reference to the Gemini space program, in addition to the obvious affiliation with the Winklevoss twins. (Gemini Space Station is the holding corporation that controls the Gemini platform and the brothers’ other assets.) The platform is designed to be a hybrid of new-age cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies.
Users of the Gemini exchange, like those of any other currency exchange, can trade currency pairs in around 20 different combinations. The most common currencies are the US dollar (USD), bitcoin (BTC), and ether (ETH). So for example, the currency combination ZEC/USD represents a Zcash trade against the US dollars.
Furthermore, Gemini provides its retail and institutional customers with a platform to buy, trade, and store digital currencies in a regulated and safe environment, based on the basic concepts of security, liquidity, and trust.
Read Also: BEST CRYPTO EXCHANGE WITH LOWEST FEES: Top 11+ (Updated)
Gemini’s Leadership and History
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are the principal shareholders in Gemini.
The Winklevoss twins are popular for their lawsuit (a $65 million settlement) against Mark Zuckerberg, claiming that Facebook was their concept and that Zuckerberg stole it, like the film “The Social Network” depicts. All three were Harvard University students at the time.
According to The New York Times, the twins took the initiative to invest some of that fortune to acquire Bitcoin and, later, Ether in their early days. By 2017, they had become billionaires. Gemini was a direct product of that bounty.
To them, Facebook now appears to be a relic of the past. Tyler Winklevoss told Forbes,
“The idea of a centralized social network is just not going to exist five or 10 years from now.” “Between the old world and this new crypto-native cosmos, there’s a membrane or a chasm.”
How to Trade on Gemini Crypto Exchange App
The Gemini crypto exchange is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the exception of maintenance windows.
A regular market order on Gemini is filled instantly at the best available market price at the time, just like any other online broker. Limit orders are also available on Gemini. Basically, there are three types of limit orders: instant or cancel (IOC), maker or cancel (MOC), and auction-only (AO).
However, because Gemini does not offer margin trading like competitors like Kraken, all orders must be fully financed before being delivered. It also prohibits short-term trading.
To trade on the platform, customers must link a bank account and conduct a wire transfer or an ACH deposit from a bank.
They can also send money from their bitcoin wallets to their Gemini accounts and vice versa. But to deposit cryptocurrencies into a Gemini account, the customer must first create an exclusive deposit address on the Gemini platform, followed by a transfer from the wallet to the deposit address.
The focus of Gemini is on user security. According to information on their website, the platform keeps the majority of customers’ cryptos in “cold storage” on their computers, while cash goes to a secure “hot wallet.”
Gemini’s Custodian Service
Gemini provides custodian services to its clients in addition to being a regular virtual currency exchange.
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has granted it permission to retain a customer’s digital assets in trust on their behalf. Your digital currency assets, in other words, are subject to reserve requirements and banking compliance rules. Gemini is also responsible for upholding and implementing appropriate cybersecurity measures.
Individual users are offered the usual zero-fee depository account type, but large institutional customers can choose a segregated custody account type with an offline, secure, and auditable storage system called the company’s Cold Storage system. Meanwhile, institutional customers, such as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and hedge funds, are eligible to use the service.
Gemini Crypto Exchange & Mobile App Fees
For the most part, Gemini’s crypto exchange, mobile app, and Active Trader offerings all have their own fee structures. Fees are 0.250 percent for buyers, 0.100 percent for sellers, and 0.200 percent for auction participants for accounts under $1 million. However, certain extremely high-value transactions are exempt from fees.
The Gemini Pay app is free to use and allows users to pay for things using their cryptocurrency. Gemini dollars, the service’s stable coin, come in handy in making transactions. It has the advantage of being less volatile in price because it is tied to the US dollar. Also, users of the Pay app can also make payments in bitcoin, ether, Litecoin, Zcash, or Bitcoin Cash.
The Position of Gemini in the Cryptocurrency Industry
The Winklevoss twins appear to be resolved to be the white-hat traders in the cryptocurrency trading Wild West.
Gemini has worked to set itself apart from its competitors by emphasizing that it is licensed and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services, which is in charge of monitoring the state’s banking, financial services, and insurance industries.
Furthermore, it presently has insurance for the cryptocurrency holdings of its customers.
The International Expansion of Gemini
The crypto exchange, whose inception was in January 2015, became operational for consumers in the United States in October that year. By mid-2016, the exchange had expanded to other countries, starting with Canada and the United Kingdom.
To cater to the rapidly growing population of Asian cryptocurrency aficionados, Gemini quickly expanded to Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. It is now available in 50 countries around the world.
However, Gemini seemed more like an exchange for institutional traders rather than private investors in its early days.
It was also, unsurprisingly, largely a bitcoin exchange. That is no longer the case. On Gemini, you may buy and sell over 40 different cryptocurrencies.
Gemini launched the first-ever daily bitcoin auction in September 2016, a strategy used by all modern stock exchanges but a first for a crypto exchange.
In July 2017, the platform launched 12 daily ether auctions.
About Gemini Pay
Gemini now appears to be moving closer to mainstream acceptance. Gemini Pay is accepted at about 30,000 stores, including Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Petco. According to sources It also has a relationship with TaxBit to assist users in calculating their crypto-related tax liabilities.
On Gemini, cryptocurrency owners can even earn interest. Earn, a savings account feature introduced in early 2021, offers annual interest rates on cryptocurrency holdings of up to 7.4 percent, a significant premium over current bank interest rates for conventional money.
Gemini Credit Card
A Gemini credit card is in the works, with a mid-2021 debut date planned.
In early 2021, the Winklevoss twins generated a lot of fuss about launching an initial public offering (IPO). However, as of mid-2021, there have been no publications concerning formal plans to that effect.
On June 6, 2021, their in-house currency, the Gemini dollar, which is based on the US dollar, had a total market value of around $147 million.
Key Highlights
- Gemini is a cryptocurrency platform that includes a website and a mobile app for buying, selling, storing, and spending coins.
- Security and ease of use are two of its main selling factors.
- It has its own currency, the Gemini stable coin, and facilitates trade in over 40 cryptocurrencies.
- Gemini has added a payment app and an interest-paying savings account since its establishment in 2015. A credit card for Gemini also is in the pipeline.
- Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the company’s founders, have expressed interest in launching an initial public offering (IPO).
What Is Gemini Exchange?
The Gemini exchange is a crypto trading platform that has its own cryptocurrency. It supports the purchase and sale of over 30 different cryptocurrencies. Individual and institutional investors have separate interfaces on the platform, which is accessible via a website and a mobile app.
Who Is the Owner of Gemini Exchange?
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss own the Gemini Exchange. If there are any other minority owners, they are largely invisible.
What Cryptocurrencies Can You Purchase on Gemini?
As of August 2021, the following is a complete list of cryptocurrency products that can be bought, sold, and/or stored on Gemini: Aave, Amp, Basic Attention Token, Bancor, BarnBridge, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, (Bread), (Caspian), Chainlink, Compound, Curve, Dai, Decentraland, Dogecoin.
How Much Is Gemini Worth?
Because Gemini is a private corporation, valuation projections are purely speculative. Nonetheless, the company employs over 200 people and has recently relocated to a 50,000 square-foot headquarters in New York, according to Forbes.
Is Gemini Bigger Than Coinbase?
According to BitDegree, Gemini had a slightly greater user base at one point, with 13.6 million users compared to Coinbase’s 13.3 million
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