The public market for crypto companies is heating up. On the heels of Circle’s monster debut on the New York Stock Exchange, another firm is following in its steps, with Gemini announcing on Friday that it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering.
Founded by the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, in 2014, Gemini is one of the longest-operating U.S. crypto companies, though it has never reached the scale of competitors like Coinbase. Though Gemini’s main product is its exchange, which allows users to buy and sell popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it offers other services, including custody and staking.
Like other crypto companies, Gemini has endured a rocky relationship with regulators, especially after its failed partnership with Genesis, the former subsidiary of crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG), led to a messy series of lawsuits and enforcement actions from state and federal agencies.
Despite the hiccups, Gemini is aiming to ride the wave of investor interest in crypto, driven by the Trump administration’s embrace of the sector. The Winklevoss twins were outspoken supporters of Trump’s bid for a second term, with each personally donating $1 million in Bitcoin to his campaign. They appeared at the White House when Trump hosted the first-ever crypto summit in March.
In a press release, a Gemini spokesperson said that the IPO will occur after the Securities and Exchange Commission has conducted its review.
Bitcoin OGs
Famous for their spat with Mark Zuckerberg over the founding of Facebook, the Winklevoss twins plotted their next act in cryptocurrency, embracing Bitcoin before it was a popular asset class. They founded Gemini soon after Coinbase came to the market, earning one of the first crypto licenses granted by the New York Department of Financial Services in 2015.
Despite the company’s early mover status, it struggled to gain a top market hold amid regulatory obstacles. The Winklevoss twins were the first to apply for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the SEC in 2013 as they were setting up Gemini, though the bid did not gain approval. And the company’s decision to create an investment vehicle called Gemini Earn with Genesis amid the crypto boom in 2021 proved to be disastrous.
Through the product, Gemini users could lend their cryptocurrency to the firm for yields of up to 13%. On the backend, Gemini lent the assets to Genesis, which in turn lent them to other firms like the hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX. After many of these companies went belly-up in 2022, the assets were frozen, leading to the bankruptcy of DCG’s lending arm, Genesis, and an ugly legal dispute between Gemini and DCG.
While the two companies ultimately returned capital to Gemini’s users, the episode still resulted in enforcement actions from the SEC, as well as the New York Department of Financial Services and the New York Attorney General.
In the wake of the regulatory crackdown, the Winklevoss twins supported Trump’s crypto-friendly campaign. Along with their appearance at the White House digital assets summit, CNBC reported that the Winklevoss twins are founding members of a new private membership club in Washington, D.C., cofounded by Donald Trump Jr.
Gemini’s public announcement of its IPO filing comes just one day after Circle’s public market debut, which saw the stablecoin issuer’s stock pop over 168%.
