Gemini cryptocurrency exchange recently raised $400 million growth equity round, its first-ever outside financing, led by Morgan Creek Digital with participation from 10T, ParaFi, Newflow Partners, Marcy Venture Partners, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, among others. This round values the company at $7.1 billion.
Launched in 2015 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini has grown to become one of the leading crypto platforms in the world. In addition to buying, selling, and storing crypto, Gemini helps investors earn, spend, and learn about crypto, as well as create and collect non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) on Nifty Gateway, a wholly owned NFT platform.
Gemini’s security-first, regulated platform has made it the trusted platform for both individuals and institutions. Investors seeking to diversify their portfolios have turned to Gemini as their preferred platform to navigate the frontier of crypto. With this round of financing, Gemini will continue to bring simple, innovative, and secure products to market, and advance its geographic expansion.
“We are leading the first outside investment in Gemini because of our shared conviction in crypto and belief in the company that Cameron and Tyler are building,” said Sachin Jaitly, General Partner of Morgan Creek Digital. “Their vision for the role of crypto in redesigning money, the financial system, art, and the Internet, and their track record of incubating and scaling innovative technologies, gives us confidence in Gemini’s ability to continue to be an industry leader.”
“Gemini is the portal into crypto for new and seasoned investors alike,” said Tyler Winklevoss, Co-Founder and CEO of Gemini. “The investors that we have brought on in this round share our ambitious vision for the future.”
This raise follows a year of significant growth and product innovation for Gemini. In 2021 Gemini:
- Acquired Blockrize to help launch the Gemini Credit Card, which offers real-time crypto rewards and has a waitlist of more than 360,000 people
- Acquired ShardX, a developer of secure multi-party computation (MPC) technology, to enhance its crypto listing and custodial services
- Launched Gemini Earn that allows users to lend their crypto and earn up to 8.05% APY. To date, Gemini Earn has originated $4 billion in crypto loans.
- Supports more than 60 cryptos for trading and custody
- Custodies more than $30B in crypto assets
- Launched Gemini Fund Solutions to provide fund managers with custody, clearing, and trading support for crypto ETFs, closed-end funds, and other fund vehicles
- Launched Cryptopedia, an open access educational resource for all things crypto
Additionally, Gemini continues to be a pioneer on the frontier of nifties with its NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway, which also experienced record growth this year. Since launch, Nifty Gateway has achieved more than $420 million in sales through 375 unique artist collaborations, cementing its position as a standout leader in the NFT digital art and collectibles space.
Gemini also increased its geographic footprint in 2021, entering the UK as one of the few registered crypto asset firms as well as obtaining its EMI license from the Financial Conduct Authority. It also filed its license with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to expand further into the Asia Pacific region. Looking ahead, Gemini will continue to expand into new markets around the world.
“In 2021 we diversified our revenue stream, expanded to new territories, acquired pioneering companies, and invested in industry-redefining innovations through the Gemini Frontier Fund. We also supported Bitcoin core development through the Gemini Opportunity Fund,” said Cameron Winklevoss, Co-Founder and President of Gemini. “We are incredibly excited to continue to build on the frontier of crypto and give individuals around the world greater choice, independence, and opportunity through crypto.”
