Gemini IPO: Winklevoss-Backed Crypto Exchange Prepares for Wall Street Debut

Fintech unicorns are stepping into the spotlight, and Gemini Space Station is next in line. The cryptocurrency exchange, co-founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is slated to price its initial public offering late Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker GEMI. Known for their early role in Facebook’s history and later legal battles dramatized in The Social Network, the twins now hope to cement Gemini as a leading bridge between traditional finance and the cryptoeconomy. With Nasdaq investing $50 million in the IPO, strong underwriter support, and crypto enthusiasm rekindled under a favorable policy backdrop, Gemini’s debut is drawing significant investor attention—though questions remain about profitability and competition.

IPO Details Gemini, as reported in its S-1 , raised its pricing range to $24–$26 per share, up from the initial $17–$19, signaling robust demand. The company plans to sell 16.7 million Class A shares, with underwriters holding a 30-day option for an additional 2.4 million. At the top of the range, the IPO would raise about $433 million and value the firm near $3.2 billion based on 118.7 million total shares outstanding. Nasdaq’s $50 million private placement will close alongside the IPO, making it both an investor and a strategic partner. Lead bookrunners include Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Cantor, with a deep syndicate of additional banks participating.

What Gemini Does Founded in 2014, Gemini is a regulated crypto exchange operating in over 60 countries. It offers retail users a secure gateway to buy, sell, stake, and store a broad set of digital assets, while institutional customers access trading desks, custody, and staking services. The firm has processed more than $285 billion in lifetime trading volume and holds over $21 billion in assets on its platform. Gemini differentiates itself by emphasizing compliance and security—qualities underscored by its New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) stablecoin approval and institutional-grade custody services.

The business model is anchored by transaction fees on trading volume, which account for roughly two-thirds of revenue. That creates a “flywheel”: as more retail and institutional clients trade, custody, or stake assets on Gemini, the company collects fees and gains insights into user behavior. These insights feed into platform improvements, education (via its Cryptopedia platform), and product expansion, in turn attracting more users. Engagement tools like watchlists, recurring buys, and market alerts are designed to increase activity, while institutional products such as OTC trading and collateral management expand revenue diversity.

Financial Performance Despite its high-profile brand and strong positioning, Gemini’s financials reveal challenges. For the first half of 2025, revenue fell to $68.6 million from $74.3 million a year earlier. Net losses widened sharply to $282.5 million from $41.4 million in the prior year’s first half, reflecting higher technology costs, elevated compensation expenses, and significant realized and unrealized losses tied to crypto assets and related party loans. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $113.5 million in the latest period, compared with positive $32 million a year earlier.

In 2024, Gemini posted $142.2 million in revenue and a net loss of $158.5 million, narrower than its $319.7 million loss in 2023. The pattern highlights both the revenue volatility inherent in crypto markets and the firm’s ongoing struggle to balance scaling costs with profitability. Key drivers such as retail trading volume, staking activity, and credit card adoption have grown, but revenue per transaction has declined due to fee compression and higher incentives for market makers.

Key Metrics to Watch Investors evaluating Gemini post-IPO will monitor several core indicators. Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs), currently about 549,000, measure the active customer base and correlate closely with transaction revenue. Trading volume rose to $24.8 billion in the first half of 2025, up from $16.6 billion in the prior year, showing resilience even as revenue per trade fell. Assets under custody—$21 billion as of mid-2025—serve as another barometer of trust and scale. Card sign-ups and adoption of the Gemini Credit Card, which rewards purchases in crypto, represent a newer growth lever and leading indicator of potential fee streams.

Staking revenue, custody fees, and credit card usage are becoming increasingly important as Gemini diversifies beyond trading. However, transaction fees from retail activity still dominate, with retail accounting for about 95% of exchange revenue in the first half of 2025. That concentration exposes Gemini to retail sentiment swings and crypto price cycles.

The Big Picture Gemini enters public markets at a moment of renewed optimism for digital assets, boosted by a pro-crypto administration, ETF inflows, and strong sector IPO momentum. The Winklevoss brothers’ reputation, Nasdaq’s backing, and a well-supported underwriter lineup should drive interest. But the valuation rests on the assumption that Gemini can translate its loyal user base into sustained growth while steering toward profitability. With Coinbase, Robinhood, and Bullish already competing for volume, the market will demand evidence that Gemini’s compliance-first approach, user-friendly platform, and ecosystem flywheel can carve out lasting differentiation.

In the short term, the IPO is likely to benefit from crypto’s rebound and hot money chasing sector debuts. The longer-term story will hinge on whether Gemini can manage costs, expand beyond trading fees, and stabilize its earnings profile. For now, investors get another high-profile bet on the mainstreaming of crypto—one that may soar out of the gate, but will need real execution to keep flying.