Gemini review

This Gemini review covers the New York exchange founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, as it stands in October 2026. Gemini built its reputation on compliance and security, listed on Nasdaq in September 2025 (ticker GEMI) and now offers spot trading, perpetual contracts, staking, a crypto rewards credit card, prediction markets and US stocks. It is also a platform in transition: in February 2026 it decided to leave the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia.

If you live in the United States, Gemini remains one of the most regulated options available. If you live in Europe, the short answer is that you can no longer open an account: Gemini’s website states that it ceased operations in the UK and Europe on 6 April 2026.

Regulation and licences

Gemini Trust Company is a limited purpose trust company chartered by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) since 2015, which makes it a qualified custodian. According to its 2025 annual report, Gemini Trust and Gemini Moonbase are registered money services businesses with FinCEN, and the group holds money transmitter licences or their equivalent in every state that requires one, so it can operate in all 50 states. Gemini Titan is a CFTC-designated contract market for prediction markets, and Gemini Galactic is a FINRA broker-dealer for stock trading.

In Europe, Gemini Intergalactic EU Ltd received a MiCA authorisation from the Malta Financial Services Authority on 21 August 2025. Less than six months later, on 4 February 2026, the board approved a plan to wind down operations in the UK, the EU, other European jurisdictions and Australia, with up to 200 job cuts, about 25% of staff, as disclosed in an SEC filing. Gemini now focuses on the US and Singapore, where it announced a Major Payment Institution licence in September 2026.

Enforcement history: the Earn episode

Gemini’s record is not spotless. Its Earn programme lent customer crypto to Genesis, which froze withdrawals in November 2022. The SEC sued Gemini Trust in January 2023 over unregistered securities, and the parties told the court in September 2025 that they had reached a resolution in principle. On 28 February 2024, Gemini settled with the NYDFS, contributing $40 million to Earn users’ recovery and paying a $37 million penalty. Earn users received their crypto back in kind in 2024. Separately, Gemini paid a $5 million civil penalty to the CFTC in January 2025 over misleading statements made to its staff. As of July 2026, the company still faced 376 arbitrations from Earn users, and the New York Attorney General filed a petition in April 2026 alleging that its prediction markets amount to unlicensed gambling.

Gemini fees

Gemini is expensive for small traders. Its ActiveTrader fee schedule, effective 1 September 2026, starts as follows:

Product and tier	Maker	Taker
Spot, 30-day volume under $10,000	0.60%	1.20%
Spot, from $10,000 (and $1 million balance)	0.40%	0.80%
Spot, from $1 million	0.05%	0.10%
Spot, from $250 million	0.00%	0.02%
Main stablecoin pairs (GUSD/USD, RLUSD/USD, USDC/GUSD)	0.00%	0.00%
Perpetuals, base tier (charged in GUSD)	0.02%	0.07%

At the base tier, a $1,000 market buy costs $12 in fees, ten times what many large exchanges charge. The lower spot tiers also require a high asset balance on the platform until you reach $500,000 in monthly volume. The simple buy interface in the mobile app uses its own pricing, shown before you confirm. Perpetual contracts are only available to eligible users where permitted.

Security record

We found no report of a hack of Gemini’s own wallets since its launch. The company says the overwhelming majority of customer assets sit in cold storage, protected by hardware security modules and, more recently, multi-party computation. It has completed SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 examinations. For 2025, it reported $25 million of crime insurance on its hot wallet and $100 million of specie insurance on cold storage. The Earn losses came from a lending partner, not from a breach, but they showed that custodial yield products carry counterparty risk.

Products

• Exchange and ActiveTrader: about 80 cryptocurrencies on the order book as of October 2026, with advanced charts and order types;
• Derivatives and margin: perpetual contracts and spot margin up to 5x for eligible users;
• Staking: on selected networks, including HYPE since September 2026;
• Gemini Dollar (GUSD): an NYDFS-regulated stablecoin;
• Credit card, Predictions and Stocks: a card paying crypto rewards, CFTC-regulated event contracts and US stock trading since July 2026.

Gemini closed its Nifty Gateway NFT marketplace in January 2026. Its coin list is narrower than at Coinbase or Bitpanda, which matters if you hunt for smaller tokens.

Deposits and withdrawals

In the US, Gemini accepts debit cards, ACH bank transfers, wires, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay, as listed in its annual report. ACH is the usual low-cost option for regular deposits, while card payments are faster but cost more. Crypto deposits and withdrawals to your own wallet are supported; check the transfer fee schedule before moving small amounts.

Who Gemini suits

Gemini suits US residents who put regulation, custody standards and a listed parent company ahead of price: long-term holders, users of the rewards credit card and institutions that need a qualified custodian. It does not suit European or UK users, who can no longer sign up, nor active traders below the high-volume tiers, who will pay some of the highest spot fees in the market.

How Gemini compares

Against Coinbase and Kraken, Gemini offers a similar regulatory standing in the US but fewer coins and higher entry-level fees, and unlike them it no longer serves Europe. Against Crypto.com, it trades breadth for a cleaner custody setup. Our guide on how to choose a crypto exchange explains which criteria to weigh first.

Our verdict and rating method

We rate Gemini 7.3/10. Security scores 8.5/10: no known hack, strong audits and a trust charter, tempered by the Earn episode. Deposits (8/10) are well covered in the US and the app (8/10) is polished. Support scores 7/10. Fees (4.5/10) are the main weakness, and the exit from Europe limits who can use it.