Gemini Goes Public: Winklevoss Twins Take Crypto Exchange to Nasdaq in Blockbuster IPO

Crypto's most infamous twins just made Wall Street's biggest power play.

Gemini—the exchange that survived Bitcoin's wildest rides—files for Nasdaq listing, forcing traditional finance to reckon with crypto's staying power.

From Harvard to handcuffs to IPO glory

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss pivot from Facebook lawsuit fame to potentially creating the first crypto-native Fortune 500 company. Their timing? Either brilliant or disastrous—ask again after the first earnings call.

Regulators already reaching for the smelling salts

The SEC's paperwork avalanche begins as Gemini's S-1 drops. Insiders whisper this could trigger a domino effect among rival exchanges—if Nasdaq doesn't get cold feet first.

One thing's certain: Wall Street's old guard will finally stop asking 'But when will crypto grow up?' Now they'll just short it like everything else.

Big Numbers In Revenue this Year

According to its latest filing, Gemini has made $67.9 million in revenue in the first six months of this year, but lost $282.5 million. In the same period last year, it earned $73.5 million but lost $41.4 million.

The company holds more than $18 billion worth of customer assets. Most of its income, about 65.5%, comes from charging fees when people trade cryptocurrencies. Gemini also has other products, such as a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, services for earning interest through crypto staking, and a credit card that gives rewards in cryptocurrency. The company also caters to institutions with crypto custody and over-the-counter trading.

The Twin Power Play

Cameron Winklevoss serves as president and Tyler Winklevoss as chief executive officer. Both own at least 5% of the company’s shares. Each brother is worth about $7.5 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. The IPO is being managed by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, two large investment banks.

The decision to go public comes as more crypto companies are selling shares on the stock market. This trend has grown after the Trump administration supported new cryptocurrency laws.  In June, the stablecoin company Circle Internet Group Inc. went public in a $1.2 billion IPO, and its shares jumped 168% on the first day. Earlier this week, another crypto exchange called Bullish saw its shares rise 84% after raising $1.1 billion.

Legal Issue with U.S Regulators

Meanwhile, this firm has also faced its own share of legal issues in the past. In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused the company of selling unregistered securities through its Gemini Earn lending program, but those charges were dropped earlier this year.

In January, Gemini agreed to pay $5 million to settle a Commodity Futures Trading Commission lawsuit that claimed the company misled regulators while trying to launch the first U.S.-regulated Bitcoin futures contract. Gemini did not admit or deny the allegations.

Also Read: Stablecoins Could to Hit $1 Trillion by 2030: Report