What is gemini exchange?

Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange founded by Harvard University graduate twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who are best known from their involvement in the inception of social media giant Facebook.

Gemini launched in the US in October 2015, when the price of bitcoin (BTC) was around $268. The exchange is a competitor to the likes of Coinbase (COIN), Kraken and Binance.

Gemini founders: Winklevoss twins

The Winklevoss twins played an important role in the creation of Facebook (Meta Platforms FB) from the campus of Harvard University, as portrayed in the 2010 Hollywood movie The Social Network.

According to Ben Mezrich, author of The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal, which tells the story about the founding of Facebook, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were already working on a social media website called the HarvardConnection when they recruited Mark Zuckerberg to finish the coding for their website after their programmer left campus to work for Google ( Alphabet GOOGL).

According to Mezrich, the Winklevoss twins sued the Facebook founder which led to a settlement of $65m, of which the twins took about $45m in Facebook stock. Six years after Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) the value of the twins’ Facebook holdings had surged to $500m, added Mezrich.

The twins stumbled upon bitcoin, they dived deep into understanding the technology behind it. They ended up buying 120,000 bitcoins, about one percent of the entire bitcoin supply at the time, at an average price of less than $10 a coin, according to Mezrich. The Winklevoss Twins later launched Gemini Exchange in 2015. 

Who owns Gemini exchange now? Tyler Winklevoss is the chief executive of Gemini, while Cameron Winklevoss is the company’s president.

How to use Gemini exchange 

According to Gemini’s website, the exchange provides services in over 60 countries, including the US, UK, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and Singapore, among others, as of 3 March 2022.

Along with its core cryptocurrency trading services, Gemini crypto exchange also provides various crypto-related services. Gemini Earn offers users to earn interest on their cryptocurrency deposits. Gemini Active Trader provides customers with added trading features, while Gemini Custody offers crypto holders secure storage services. The exchange supports trading and custody of over 75 tokens, with solana (SOL) being the latest addition on 28 February 2022. 

Out of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation, Gemini exchange crypto list does not include BNB, USDT and AVAX, as of 3 March 2022. 

According to its website, Gemini Clearing allows two parties to settle a trade where the exchange acts as a confirming third party in pre-arranged transactions. Gemini Pay lets users pay in crypto in select stores in the US. Gemini Wallet is a hot wallet to store cryptocurrencies. Gemini has partnered with Mastercard (MA) to issue the Gemini Credit Card. 

Gemini exchange coins: Gemini Dollar (GUSD)

Gemini has a USD-backed stablecoin called the Gemini Dollar, or GUSD. According to CoinMarketCap, GUSD is the 191 largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalisation of over $225m, as of 3 March 2022.

GUSD is an Ethereum ERC-20 token. Users do not have to pay fees to buy or sell GUSD on Gemini Exchange.

According to CoinCodex, GUSD is the 15th largest stablecoin, as of 3 March 2022. Tether’s USDT, Circle’s USDC and Binance’s BUSD are the top three stablecoins in the world.