What is Gemini?
Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange that was created in 2015 by Winklevoss twins. If you don't know who this twins are, they are the ones that had a legal fight with the owner of Facebook claiming he stolen their idea. In the end they won the trial and got over 60 million dollars for it. They later invested in bitcoin and decided to open their own cryptocurrency exchange which was called Gemini obviously because of the fact that they are twins.
Gemini was the first exchange to ever be licensed for ethereum trading. Their headquarters are based in New York and the exchange is fully licensed and regulated there. This is not something many exchanges can be proud of as New York is one of the hardest state in the world when talking about cryptocurrency regulations.
Initially Gemini was available only for US citizens but they expanded and now they are accepting customers from around 50 different countries. This is still not great considering other exchanges accept customers from hundreds of countries but given the fact that it is licensed in the US there are certain restrictions applied.
Gemini has around 45 cryptocurrencies available for trading on their exchange platform and the number of trading pairs is also limited. You will find some of the coins in top 10-20 but keep in mind that there are still lots of coins missing from their exchange.
Gemini Products
Gemini mobile app allows you to trade cryptocurrencies regardless of where you are by using your smartphone. Using the mobile app you can easily create your own crypto portfolio and buy or sell faster. The app is available on App Store for IOS users, on Google Play for Android users and it's also available on Galaxy Store for users of tablets
Gemini web exchange allows anyone to buy, sell and store their cryptocurrencies all in one place very easily. You can manage your portfolio here and check how well it's doing, while also being able to trade your assets on a very attractive interface.
ActiveTrader is a Gemini exchange platform available for more experienced traders. Transactions made here are completed is less than 1 second, you have otc trading, multiple order types and charts more advanced.
Gemini Clearing is a service where Gemini acts as a 3rd party during an exchange completed between 2 different traders. Both of these users need to have KYC verified, and the transaction is done anonymously. The transaction can be completed immediately or at a fixed point in the future.
Gemini Dollar is a product of Gemini company that wants to combine the security of fiat dollar with the technology of blockchain digital assets technology. Gemini dollar is backed by real dollars stored at a State Bank in New York, being one of the first stablecoins that are regulated.
Gemini Pay
Gemini Pay is an original Gemini product that allows customers living in the US to spend their cryptocurrencies at merchants using a debit card card connected to your smartphone. You can select from multiple cryptocurrencies to use like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, GUSD ( Gemini USD), Litecoin and Ethereum. The process is very simple, you just choose your shops where you want to pay, you choose the cryptocurrency you want to pay with and then you use your mobile phone just as a contacless card to pay with. There are at least 30.000 different merchants and shops spread around the US where you can pay using this method. And the coolest thing about all of this is that there are no fees and no taxes involved in spending your cryptocurrency.
Gemini Fees
The fees for using the Web and mobile exchange are fixed, depending on the amount of money traded,as shown in the image below. Keep in mind that Gemini will also add a 0.5% fee on all prices available on the exchange meaning if the price of bitcoin is 1000$ you'll buy it for 1005$ and also pay the fees according to the table below.
In order to avoid such high fees it is recommended to use the ActiveTrader platform. The fees here work on a normal basis of maker/taker fee, and they depend on your trading volume registered in the last 30 days.
Security of Gemini
Gemini is a regulated exchange and it is licensed in New York by the department of financial services. You have to understand that it is extremely hard to get such a license, first of all in the US but especially in New York. Because of this everyone that wants to trade on Gemini needs to verify his identity.
Gemini keeps most of their funds in cold storages that are offline. This kind of wallets that Gemini uses have been tested by multiple companies and they've proven to be the wallets with some of the highest level of security in the world.
Gemini Referral Program
In comparison to other referral programs from exchanges, Gemini does not offer you commissions from the fees paid by your referrals. Instead Gemini offers both you and your referrals 10$ each, when your referral trades an amount of minimum 100$ or the approximate value of that if you are using a different currency. This reward will only be available if your referral completes the trading requirements during the first 30 days after he registers on the exchange.
How to join Gemini?
Visit https://gemini.com/, click on Get Started and complete the form shown there. You'll need to complete your full name, you email adress and a password, afterwards you'll also need to verify your mobile number. KYC will not be asked at registration but you won't be able to withdraw any funds from your Gemini account until you have completed the KYC verification, which consists in sending them copies of 1 and in some cases 2 documents issued by national government in your name.
