Gemini’s Non-US Derivatives Platform Goes Live

Amid regulatory headwinds back home, the Winklevoss twins have redoubled their efforts to expand Gemini’s offerings to non-US residents. The new service is intended to target retail and institutional traders but will exclude users from the UK and the European Union.

Gemini Foundation – the highly anticipated non-US derivatives platform – launched on May 1 for clients in all 29 available jurisdictions, including Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Argentina, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands (BVI), Bhutan, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Egypt, El Salvador, among others.

At launch, the Gemini Foundation will offer perpetual Bitcoin contracts denominated in Gemini Dollars (GUSD) with up to 100x leverage. In the coming weeks, the platform plans to launch ETH/GUSD perpetual contracts as well.

Regulatory headwinds in the United States

Since its founding in 2014, it has worked for a long time with regulators in the United States. A year after launch, Gemini was awarded a Charter of Trust by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

It faced a serious operational challenge in 2022 after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued the company, alleging it made “false and misleading statements” to post the first US-regulated bitcoin futures contract in 2017.

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandated Gemini, along with Genesis, to offer and sell securities unregistered. The regulator has targeted the Gemini Earn lending service, the yield-bearing product that thousands of US investors have entrusted with their cryptocurrency.

However, abroad to divide It marks Gemini’s first product focused outside of the US, marking a crucial stage for the company as it joins the bandwagon of crypto companies taking their business elsewhere. Despite the obstacles, the Winklevoss twins He said They still hope to launch a derivative product in the home country.

Asia Pivot

In addition to launching a new division, Gemini also pivoted to Asia. Following the expansion of Singapore, the company announced plans to establish a new engineering center in Gurgaon, India.

Products and features developed in India can be used by enterprise and retail customers in more than 70 countries. The newly formed team, which will be headed by Gemini Asia Pacific’s new CEO, Pravjit Tiwana, will aim to develop the next generation of web and mobile user experience and deliver feature sets for NFT and cryptocurrency markets.