Gemini Raises $400M to Bring Valuation Over $7B

The seven-year-old crypto exchange was founded by twin brothers and early Bitcoin investors, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

article-image

Gemini, in New York; Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • The round was led by Morgan Creek Digital with participation from DeFi firm ParaFi Capital
  • This year has proven to be the strongest year for crypto capital, with $15 billion in global blockchain funding during the first nine months of 2021, up 384% vs. the entirety of 2020

Crypto exchange Gemini has raised $400 million in funding to bring its valuation to about $7.1 billion, according to the company.

Morgan Creek Digital led Gemini’s first-ever round of outside funding with participation from 10T, ParaFi, Newflow Partners, Marcy Venture Partners, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, among others, according to the press release.

Gemini and Morgan Creek Capital did not respond to immediate requests for comment by Blockworks. ParaFi Capital, when reached by Blockworks, declined to comment.

“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, in a press release announcing the funding. “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.” 

The seven-year-old company was founded by twin brothers and early Bitcoin investors, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Gemini offers services to trade over 50 cryptocurrencies, earn up to 8.05% APY on about 40 different tokens and get up to 3% on crypto rewards through its credit card.

At the end of August, the company wrote that its customers were earning interest on over $3 billion in loans through its Gemini Earn product. 

The brothers are expected to keep 75% ownership of Gemini after the capital raise, increasing their total net wealth 75% from $6 billion in April to $10.5 billion today.

As bitcoin’s spot price hit a new all-time high on November 10 around $69,000, companies and investors alike are taking advantage of current market conditions by pumping tons of capital into the crypto space. 
This year has proven to be the strongest year for crypto capital, with $15 billion in global blockchain funding during the first nine months of 2021, up 384% vs the entirety of 2020, CB Insights’ blockchain report for Q3 2021 showed.

This story was updated on November 18, 2021, at 5:10 pm ET.


Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening. Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter now.


Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

The Department of Justice and Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced back-to-back lawsuits against KuCoin Tuesday

article-image

Judge Failla found that Coinbase didn’t operate as an unregistered broker in offering its wallet service

article-image

A fund by Laser Digital offers investors exposure to the Polygon network, while a new 21Shares ETP focuses on staking rewards from Toncoin

article-image

Sponsored

The TRON network’s integration into Dune brings a wealth of data and insights to the fingertips of users

article-image

A BTC futures fund offered by Hashdex and Tidal Investments has gotten regulatory clearance to hold bitcoin directly

article-image

At launch, Chain Signatures will be compatible with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Cosmos network chains, as well as DogeCoin and XRP Ledger