Review: Gemini Exchange

The Coin Times
7 min readDec 22, 2021

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An exchange platform originally founded in the US, Gemini has gained much attention from crypto traders who adopted the exchange. But that was just the beginning as it has now expanded globally to other countries on different continents.

Gemini offers its users access to crypto bulls like BTC, ETH, and low-level altcoins. This exchange is bringing digital innovation that has attracted many investors.

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Gemini Overview

The cryptocurrency exchange platform started in 2014 but was officially unveiled in 2015 as a cryptocurrency trading platform. The trading platform was founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who are famous for their legal battles with Mark Zuckerberg over the ownership status of Facebook. The crypto exchange attracts both newbies, pros, and institutional investors. It has several options through which cryptocurrencies can be used.

Although in terms of trading volume, it cannot be compared with the likes of Binance or Kraken, it still has impressive records in stores. It offers over 40 cryptocurrencies and some impressive features such as a learning hub for beginners. It also makes provision for experts by providing them with certain high valued features. Such as Gemini Earn, Gemini Pay, Gemini Wallet, Gemini pay, ActiveTrader, amongst other valuable services. In addition, it incentivizes its cryptocurrency holders because they are liquidity providers.

What’s more, this trading app is one of the few apps to be licensed and regulated to operate in the USA. It was even endorsed by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS).

Platform Features

There are so many features attached to this cryptocurrency platform.

Gemini supports over 50 cryptocurrencies:

Which include; Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), BitcoinCash(BCH), Zcash (ZEC), Filecoin (FIL), etc.

Crypto traders in the USA can access the exchange and trade any cryptocurrency of their choice.

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Low minimums:

It has extremely low minimum order amounts which apply to BTC and some other cryptocurrencies.

$150 new user sign up bonus;

There is a $150 bonus in Bitcoin for new users who invest at least $1,000 within 30 days.

Mobile app;

It has a Mobile app to help keep crypto users and traders active on the go. Users can buy, sell, convert, track market prices, etc via the mobile app.

Advanced trading platform;

It offers trading platforms for both users and professionals. Gemini ActiveTrader provides a professional-quality trading system. Moreover, it is mobile trading optimized.

Peer-to-peer trading;

It offers P2P trading between buyers and sellers via the Gemini Clearing portals. The fee per transaction is not stable and also, there is no minimum order size.

How to Sign Up on Gemini (mobile website view)

To open an account on Gemini, follow these steps:

Step 1. Visit Gemini’s official website page.

Then, click on [Get started].

Click on [Sign in]

Click on [Create new account]

Fill in all necessary information and complete the registration by ticking the agreement box.,

Gemini Customer’s Support

Gemini exchange platform offers its users two methods of contacting their customer service team.

The first one is via message. There is an online request form to fill out. To ensure you get a quick reply, include the email address used to open your Gemini account.

The second one is by phone number and direct message on Twitter @GeminiSupport. For the phone number, you can check the official website

Fee Structure on Gemini

Gemini Fees

There is both convenience and a transaction fee for all crypto that is traded via buying and selling on Gemini. These fees remain the same regardless of whether you are buying from Gemini’s website or through its mobile app. Before you make your purchase, the medium you choose to buy from will display both charges as “quoted price.”

Convenience Fee

The convenience fee is about 0.5% of the Gemini market price of a particular trade. Although, this fee varies due to the volatility of the market. For every crypto you buy, the fee is charged.

Transaction Fee

Apart from the convenience fee, there is a fee known as a transaction fee. This fee is proportional to the amount you trade. According to some crypto conversions, when you trade Bitcoin for Litecoin there is a standard transaction fee attached. It has a fee of 1.49%. This fee is not fixed. It depends on the type of currency you are trading on.

Withdrawal Fees

There is no withdrawal fee attached to withdrawing crypto or fiat currency from your account after the sale of your crypto. Although there is a limitation of 10 withdrawals per month. Once the monthly limit is exceeded, a fee is attached for subsequent withdrawal.

Deposit Fees

Moving crypto from your wallet or from another exchange to trade on Gemini is free. In addition, depositing U.S. dollars into your account to make a trade through every other means apart from debit cards doesn’t attract a fee. For a Debit Card Transfer, the user is charged 3.49% of the total amount purchased.

Trading Platform

Gemini Earn:

This is a lending program where some crypto users lend out cryptocurrency to institutional borrowers. The lenders are given an incentive of up to 7.4% APY on their supply. Although this varies due to the type of coins deposited in the lending account.

Currently, Genesis is a Gemini partner that manages this aspect of the trading platform as a digital asset trading firm. Gemini has strict and transparent policies with its third-party borrowers. They ensure that they are screened periodically.

In addition, they are obligated to return funds- all these are part of the loan agreement. Although, there is still skepticism surrounding the lending of crypto for beginners mostly. Still, it is another opportunity to earn.

One of the downsides is that funds deposited in the Gemini Earn account are at the mercy of Gemini’s third-party partners. In a situation of a mishap, Gemini’s insurance policy is not responsible. More so, you can transfer your cryptocurrency with the interest earned back to your standard Gemini account at any time. The interest is paid daily.

Cryptopedia:

Cryptopedia is the Wikipedia of the Gemini exchange. It is an online learning hub where both beginners and pros are taught the ins and outs of cryptocurrency. There are over 300 articles on 152 topics regarding crypto. It contains both simplified in-depth explanations on different topics.

Gemini Wallet and Gemini Custody:

It offers two wallet systems, a cold and a hot wallet. The cold storage system is called Gemini Custody while the hot wallet which is insured is known as Gemini Wallet. A yearly service charge of 0.4% is imposed on your holdings. Cryptocurrencies on the Custody are moved off your crypto network for secure holding by Gemini. On the other hand, the hot wallet is free and offers high-security storage and insurance in case of cyber-attacks and thefts. Although crypto investments can be left on an online account, it is much safer to keep them in a wallet.

ActiveTrader:

This is mainly for advanced traders because it offers a more advanced trading service. On this platform, cryptocurrency trades in microseconds. The analytics are presented as real-time market data.

Gemini Pay:

This allows crypto users to make use of their cryptocurrency for purchasing items. Although, it is not advisable because of the market volatility.

Is Gemini Exchange Secured?

Most of the money in cryptocurrency is not insured by FDIC compared with fiat currencies. To ensure the security of funds, Gemini set up a multi-layered security measure to secure the digital assets in its custody.

According to the exchange, it states that most of its cryptocurrency assets are being kept in an offline cold storage system. Cold storage is one of the proven and improved ways most crypto exchanges keep their assets away from hackers. Then it stores some of the assets online. But it provides security over breaches, hacks, fraudulent transfers, or employee theft.

It’s general knowledge that the insurance policy doesn’t cover losses from unauthorized access of crypto traders’ accounts but Gemini tries as much as possible to ensure that scammers don’t have access to users’ accounts. The platform also has 2-factor authentication which ensures that it is only users that access their accounts.

Pros and Cons of Gemini Cryptocurrency Exchange

Pros

  • The exchange platform has strong security measures.gem
  • It has over 40 cryptocurrencies for traders to choose from.
  • Its simple interface makes it user-friendly for newbies.
  • It has more advanced options for active traders which benefits advanced crypto traders.
  • It is available in all U.S. states.
  • Crypto enthusiasts can earn up to 7.4% Annual percentage yield (APY) on their cryptocurrency balance when they use Gemini Earn.
  • It has a learning hub.

Cons

  • From most traders’ perspectives, it has higher trading fees based on market price.
  • It is complicated for new traders with no cryptocurrency knowledge.

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