All you need to know about Gemini, a top-20 exchange

Key facts about the Gemini Exchange

Gemini is a New York Crypto Exchange, part of Gemini Trust Company, LLC. As of July 1, 2022, it sits on the 9th spot on the list of the largest crypto exchanges by trading volume with around $151 million traded daily across 124 markets.

Gemini Trust Company, LLC was founded in 2014 by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Who are the Winklevoss twins?

Before founding the exchange, in 2002, the twins, along with their friend Divya Narendra, decided to create a social network for Harvard students. In 2003, they approached Mark Zuckerberg to help them create a social platform. The brothers gave Zuckerberg the source code and access to the platform, and with a verbal agreement, they decided that Zuckerberg would create the product in exchange for a stake in the company. In 2004, Zuckerberg launched Facebook, and the Winklevoss twins accused him of fraud: he allegedly stole the ConnectU code and business plan.

The lawsuit lasted five years. In 2009, the parties reached a settlement, and the head of Facebook agreed to pay ConnectU $65 million in exchange for terminating the proceedings, although Facebook lawyers argued that Zuckerberg was not guilty of anything and was not a fraud. Perhaps Zuckerberg was indeed innocent and agreed to the settlement out of fear that the lawsuit might damage Facebook's reputation regardless of the outcome. Whether or not Zuckerberg stole the source code, we will never know.

The brothers received $15 million in cash and $45 million in Facebook stock, which was already worth $300 million in 2012.

If you want to know more about it, watch the Hollywood film The Social Network.

How did the brothers become the first crypto billionaires?

In 2012, the brothers decided to take a risk and became one of the first major investors in Bitcoin. The twins bought about 120,000 Bitcoins.

In 2017, Bitcoin went up from just under $1,000 to nearly $20,000, and their fortune was estimated at nearly $1.5 billion, and they became the first dollar billionaires to make money from Bitcoin.

The creation of Gemini

In 2013, the brothers began to actively invest in crypto projects. Two years later they announced plans to create their own cryptocurrency exchange, which will also be licensed.

Already in the summer of 2015 they received a license, and in October trading on the exchange was opened.

In 2013, the brothers were actively interested in investing in various crypto projects, and in January 2015 they announced plans to create the first licensed cryptocurrency exchange.

In the summer of 2015 they already received a license, and in October they opened trading on Gemini.

Gemini Dollar

Gemini Dollar was launched in 2018.

GUSD is a USD-backed stablecoin, fully regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

It is currently present on Uniswap, Aave, Curve, Zapper and so on. The token is regularly audited by BPM Accounting and Consulting.

According to the audit as of April 30, 2022, there is $205,616,808.86 GUSD in circulation, which is 100% backed by fiat money.

Gemini registration and trading

To create a Gemini account, users must be verified with a government-issued ID, driver's license, passport and supporting documents such as a bank statement, SSN/SIN.

Gemini has two versions of trading: a simplified version and a more professional version. The simplified version presents line charts and market buys and sells, While the professional version, called ActiveTrader, presents a full set of trading tools: candlestick charts, depth chart, orders (there are 8 types on the exchange: Market, Limit, Stop Limit, IOC "Immediate Or Cancel", FOK "Fill-Or-Kill", MOC "Maker Or Cancel", AO "Auction-Only", IOI "Indication Of Interest").

There were 122 trading pairs available for users by June 22, 2022.  There is no margin trading on Gemini, because it is not stipulated by the regulator

Fees

There is no fee for depositing by bank transfer or cryptocurrencies, but a debit card transfer is charged 3.49% of the total purchase amount.

Cryptocurrency withdrawals up to 10 times a month are free, above this limit the fee is different for each token.

Gemini also charges a "Convenience Fee" for each order placed in the website app, which is 0.50% and is already included in the coin price.

Additional features

Gemini offers several additional features:

Gemini Earn

Gemini Earn gives you the opportunity to earn up to 8.05% APR on your cryptocurrency by lending it to financial institutions such as Genesis. Interest is paid every day at 4 a.m.

Gemini Earn is available in the US, Singapore and Hong Kong.

For example, with $5,000 in CRV token you will get $400 in 1 year and $1800 in 4 years.

Gemini Wallet

You can safely store your assets in Gemini Wallet and be assured that they are protected and insured against certain types of losses.

The wallet supports all assets available on the platform.

Gemini Custody

Gemini Custody is an institutional-level vault that allows organizations to safely store assets in large volumes. Gemini Custody provides $200 million in insurance coverage in case users incur losses related to the platform.

Gemini Clearing

Gemini Clearing is a solution for OTC crypto trading. Gemini acts as an intermediary, making OTC transactions risk-free.

Gemini Pay

Gemini Pay is a service through which users can spend cryptocurrency at more than 30,000 outlets across the United States to pay for goods and services.

Gemini Credit Card

Gemini provides users with a credit card with rewards of up to 3% in Bitcoins and more than 60 other cryptocurrencies.

Pros and cons of Gemini

Let’s leave one argument neutral and label it as an argument 0. This is a pretty thorny issue these days, and not everyone can agree on whether it is more of an advantage or disadvantage:

    0. This is a licensed exchange.

Governments around the world are increasingly insisting that regulation is a necessary step. This is certainly a good thing in terms of stopping cryptocurrency crime and helping to protect honest investors. History knows many Ponzi schemes, and we wouldn't want to see more of them. But on the other hand, regulation goes against the fundamental principles of cryptocurrency. We would lose privacy, which is one of everyone's basic needs today. Moreover, excessive control over cryptocurrencies could make it easier for the government to ban currencies and transactions. An example is China's focus on eliminating all bitcoin transactions.

Pros

1. Emphasis on safety.

Complex and multi-step registration, compliance with internationally recognized security standards and the availability of insurance ensure a safe environment for buying and storing cryptocurrency.

Not a single case of hacking has been reported since the project's inception. Gemini uses institutional-level measures to safeguard its users' information and funds.

2. Easy ways to make deposits.

You can make deposits via bank transfer, debit card transfer and cryptocurrency.

3. Convenient and thoroughly developed interface.

There are two types of trading on the platform. If you are a professional trader, choose ActiveTrader.

4. Around the clock work and support.

Gemini has 24/7 customer support.‍

5. Many additional features.

Cons

1. Limited area of availability and only the English-language interface.

For example, Gemini does not support operation in Russia and other non-EU CIS countries.

2. A limited number of digital currencies.

3. No margin trading.

4. Fairly high trade fees.

Trade fees can also be incomprehensible to newcomers.

5. Requires a lot of personal information.

Conclusion

Gemini is a secure exchange suitable for private investors and traders as well as for institutional ones. The simple and intuitive interface helps users immerse themselves in the world of cryptocurrencies - you can quickly buy any popular asset and get access to the tools you need to understand the digital market.

Like any other exchange, there are pros and cons. Of course, providing so much information can be confusing to many people. But the increased security will obviously make you feel comfortable and not worry that you could lose your capital. Ultimately, whether to use Gemini or not is up to each trader’s priorities.

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