Gemini Trust Company

Gemini Trust Company

Gemini Trust Company was founded in 2014 by the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, who gained prominence after their legal settlement with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook. The firm launched as one of the first regulated cryptocurrency exchanges in the US, obtaining a limited-purpose trust company charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services in 2015. Gemini operates across trading (spot and derivatives via Gemini Futures), custody (Gemini Custody), and clearing (Gemini Clearing). The firm supports over 100 digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, serving both retail and institutional clients. Geographic reach spans the US, UK (FCA registered), and UAE (licensed by ADGM), with direct operations in New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and San Francisco. The firm has processed billions in volume since inception but does not disclose individual wallet or exchange balances. As of 2025, Gemini employs roughly 500 professionals across all offices. In November 2024, the firm launched Gemini Foundation, a separate institutional platform for derivatives outside the US. The Winklevoss twins maintain a philanthropic arm, the Winklevoss Foundation, which makes grants in the arts and education, distinct from Gemini's commercial operations. A structural differentiator is Gemini's built-in regulatory framework: it operates as a New York-chartered trust company rather than a crypto exchange incorporated in a non-US jurisdiction. This choice subjects the firm to periodic DFS examinations and capital requirements, creating a compliance-first posture atypical among crypto-native firms that prioritize offshore structuring.