Gemini’s Aggressive Expansion: The Winklevoss Twins Double Down

The Winklevoss twins aren’t just betting on crypto—they’re bulldozing their way into the industry’s future. Gemini, their brainchild, is scaling fast, fueled by equal parts ambition and audacity.

Growth or hubris? The market will decide.

Meanwhile, Wall Street still can’t tell a blockchain from a spreadsheet—but hey, at least they’re overpaying for the privilege.

Winklevoss twins drive Gemini’s ambitious growth

Gemini was established in 2014 by the twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The cryptocurrency exchange announced a fundraising of $400 million in November 2021 at a valuation of $7.1 billion. However, it has had its challenges since.

Gemini was reportedly staffed with about 1,000 employees as of November 2022 but would later lay off some employees during the crypto winter.

In January 2023, Gemini conflicted with the SEC over the exchange’s “Earn” program, through which the agency claimed unregistered securities sales.

The Winklevoss twins were notable supporters of US President Donald Trump’s election campaign and donated $1 million. However, the money was returned after the individuals had exceeded the maximum that people could contribute.

The battle for IPO is already heating up following Circle’s successful IPO on June 5 and the soaring stock price of Coreweave after the company went public in March.

Circle’s IPO encourages other crypto firms to follow the lead

Circle has encouraged other large crypto firms, such as Gemini, to go public as the industry reaps the benefit of President Donald Trump’s embrace of the sector.

Earlier, Circle had priced its shares at $ 31 on Wednesday, June 4. Reflecting strong investor demand, they opened trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, June 5, at $69 and closed at $83.23.

That trajectory will likely be an encouraging sign for other crypto companies looking to make stock market debuts. 

Circle is the first big crypto company to go public since the crypto exchange Coinbase was listed on Nasdaq in 2021.

Analysts anticipate that more crypto companies will  apply for an IPO

Analysts had identified crypto exchanges Kraken and Gemini as potential IPO candidates in the digital asset sector. Interestingly, their prediction came true with Gemini’s IPO announcement. The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An example of the analysts include Jacob Zuller, an analyst at Third Bridge, who stated that it would not be shocking if more crypto companies did the same as Circle. Based on his argument, the public markets realize that crypto is here to stay.

Dan Dolev, a Wall Street analyst at Mizuho Securities, is another pundit who voiced his opinion. According to Dolev, Circle’s IPO success shows pent-up demand for crypto and other fintech companies in the public markets. Based on his argument, if IPOs are doing well, it is a good indicator.

Lynn Martin, the President of NYSE Group, added that Circle’s IPO is a good sign for crypto listings and IPOs. She explained that she viewed the Circle IPO as a key indicator for this year’s IPO market beyond just crypto listings.

Circle issues USDC, a stablecoin linked to the US dollar, and it aims to keep its value steady. Crypto traders employ stablecoins to shift money among tokens swiftly, and advocates say they could be used to send or receive payments instantly.

In an interview, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire highlighted that from the beginning, they strongly believed that they could create a new system for money using the internet, which, according to them, could change how money is used.

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