U.S.-compliant exchange Gemini is set to list on Nasdaq this week under the ticker symbol "GEMI." This makes it the third cryptocurrency exchange to go public in the U.S., following Coinbase and Bullish.

According to an updated prospectus filed by the exchange with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Gemini now plans to issue shares at a price range of $24 to $26 per share, up from the initial range of $17 to $19 per share. The fundraising target has been raised to a maximum of $433 million, higher than the initial target of $317 million filed on September 2. The company's valuation has reached $3 billion. For this IPO, Gemini also received a strategic investment of $50 million from Nasdaq.

Gemini is not the only crypto company planning to go public in the U.S. On the same day as Gemini's listing, lending platform Figure will also debut on the stock market.

However, in stark contrast to the hype, Gemini's financial performance is not ideal. According to the updated prospectus, in the first half of 2025, Gemini reported a net loss of $282.5 million, significantly higher than the loss recorded in the same period last year. Revenue during the same period was $68.6 million, down approximately 8% year-over-year.

This highlights the dual nature of the crypto listing frenzy: on one hand, there is strong enthusiasm from the capital markets, while on the other, the actual profitability of these companies remains under market scrutiny.

The Compliance Dream of the Twin Brothers Who Benefited from Early Bitcoin Investments

Gemini was founded by Harvard twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The brothers gained fame for their lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg over the early ownership of Facebook, which ultimately resulted in a settlement of approximately $65 million. Part of this settlement was later invested in Bitcoin, making the brothers early large-scale holders of cryptocurrency. In 2014, they founded Gemini in New York, emphasizing a focus on "compliance" and "security" in an attempt to build a trading platform for the crypto industry that would be recognized by the traditional financial system. Shortly after its establishment, Gemini obtained a trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services and became one of the first U.S. platforms to receive approval for Ethereum trading in 2016.

Since its inception, Gemini has expanded beyond cryptocurrency trading to offer custody services, stablecoins (GUSD), credit cards, and derivatives businesses. Its custody and compliance risk control measures have particularly attracted the attention of institutional investors.

Currently, the company holds a trust license from the New York State Department of Financial Services. This year, it also obtained a compliance license under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, in addition to previously acquired MiFID II investment firm licenses. These multiple qualifications form the compliance foundation for its operations in Europe. With this series of licenses, Gemini can legally provide crypto asset trading and custody services not only in all 27 EU member states but also in three European Economic Area countries—Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway—covering a total of 30 European countries and regions.

Financial data, however, shows that Gemini faces significant challenges. The prospectus reveals that in the first half of 2025, the company’s net loss reached approximately $282.5 million, nearly six times larger than the loss in the same period last year. Revenue during the same period was $68.6 million, down from $74.3 million in the first half of 2024. Gemini’s trading volume in the first half of 2025 was approximately $24.8 billion, with assets under custody totaling about $18.2 billion. The platform had 523,000 monthly active trading users. While these figures indicate that it remains a sizable exchange, there is still a significant gap compared to market leaders like Coinbase. According to industry data, Coinbase currently holds about 49% of the U.S. spot market share, while Gemini’s market share peaked at around 3% in past years but has declined recently.

The Cold and Hot Sides of the Crypto Listing Frenzy

Gemini’s listing comes against the backdrop of a recovering U.S. IPO market. As U.S. stocks generally strengthen, tech companies are reigniting their enthusiasm for going public, and blockchain and crypto-related companies have become a new hot sector. Gemini’s listing is not an isolated case; on the same day, blockchain lending platform Figure will also list on the New York Stock Exchange. Previously, Bullish completed its listing in August, with its stock price doubling on the first day and its valuation exceeding $13 billion. Coinbase’s Nasdaq listing in 2021 pushed crypto assets into the mainstream financial market, with its market capitalization once exceeding $100 billion on the first day, and it remains a benchmark in the industry.

However, the path for crypto companies in the capital markets is not smooth. Although Coinbase achieved nearly $6.6 billion in revenue and nearly $2.6 billion in net profit in 2024, its stock price has experienced significant volatility, reflecting its fragility and sensitivity to regulatory policies. Bullish had a staggering valuation at the time of its listing but remains loss-making. Gemini’s financial data indicates that its performance is closer to the latter.

Gemini’s decision to raise its fundraising target reflects continued strong investor interest in crypto infrastructure companies. However, its loss-making financial reality raises concerns about its long-term profitability path. Compliance costs for crypto exchanges are high, and competition is fierce, making sustained growth a challenging task.

Whether Gemini can establish a firm foothold in the capital markets like Coinbase may depend on several key variables: first, its ability to continuously attract institutional clients and expand its trading and custody business scale; second, its ability to achieve revenue growth through regulatory breakthroughs in the European market; and third, its ability to remain stable amid regulatory battles and market fluctuations.

For investors, assessing whether Gemini has long-term investment value will also require evaluating its performance over the next few earnings cycles.