Secure way to buy Bitcoin for beginners and institutional investors

This cryptocurrency exchange is a good fit for: Investors and traders of all skill levels who want a full-featured cryptocurrency platform.

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Let's start a combing camparison between Two brokers' widely used tools, mobile apps, platforms, spreads, and more.

Gemini

Regulated by NYDFS

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Introduction

Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers a secure way to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency online.

Gemini also offers Gemini “Earn” as a way for crypto holders to earn interest on select deposited cryptocurrencies.

Gemini currently supports over 80 cryptocurrencies, which is fewer than most exchanges.

Gemini helps new crypto investors purchase crypto using regular currency, such as the U.S. Dollar (USD).

Users can also trade supported cryptocurrency on the platform, exchanging one crypto for another.

Gemini also specializes in institutional investing, with a full-service trading desk available to fund managers, liquidity providers, and corporations.

We’ve reviewed Gemini’s platform, fees, user experience, customer service, available crypto, and more to determine if it’s a good option for crypto investors and traders.

Crypto Exchange Details

  • Minimum Trade Size: 0.00001 BTC
  • Maximum Leverage: N/A
  • Minimum to Open Live: N/A
  • Established: 2014
  • Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE), Polygon (MATIC), Dai (DAI), Uniswap (UNI), Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
  • P2P Service : Yes
  • Yield-Farming: $1,674.80. Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
  • Payment Option: BTC, ETH and US Dollars.
  • Web Trading: Yes
  • Mobile Trading: Yes
  • Social Trading: Yes
  • Restricted Countries: Germany
  • Collateral: Yes
  • Staking: Yes
  • Auto-Invest: Yes
  • Deposit Methods:

    Deposits and withdrawals on Gemini can be performed using BTC, ETH and US Dollars.

    Therefore, the deposit and withdrawal channels are as follows: Credit/debit card: Cards accepted are those of VISA, MasterCard, and American Express.

    Local bank transfers from US banks.

  • Withdrawal Methods:

    If you have USD in your account that is available to withdraw, you can initiate a Bank Transfer (ACH) withdrawal (domestic only) or initiate a wire transfer to your linked bank account in your name.

Cryptocurrencies

Gemini offers a small selection of popular cryptocurrencies on its platform, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Chainlink (LINK).

There are over 50 cryptos supported, which is lower than most other exchanges.

For a full list of supported crypto assets, Gemini maintains an updated list.

Gemini does not currently support XRP, and Ripple (the company that created XRP) is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).1 It also doesn’t support other popular coins, such as Cardano (ADA) or Polkadot (DOT).

Trading Experience

Gemini makes it easy for new crypto traders to buy, sell, and trade crypto, with a clean web-based user experience and an intuitive mobile app.

When a user logs into Gemini, the home screen displays a user’s current portfolio. Users can also access a list of tradable crypto on the “Price” tab, which allows them to view current prices, and buy, sell, or convert crypto.

Crypto can be purchased via a linked bank account or debit card, or users can deposit funds into their Gemini account using a wire transfer or ACH transfer. 

Purchases can also be made by trading one crypto for another.

Gemini allows recurring purchases to be made on a regular schedule (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly), giving users the ability to dollar-cost-average their crypto purchases.

Users can withdraw crypto into their own digital wallet using the transfer option as well.

There are fees associated with withdrawing crypto from the platform.

Products

  • Web Exchange
  • Gemini Credit Card
  • Gemini dollar
  • Gemini Clearing
  • Gemini Wallet

Fees

Gemini charges fees for most transactions, including deposits, purchases, trades, exchanges, and transfers.

It does offer free fiat deposits via ACH and wire transfers.

Gemini fees are on the high side with standard transaction fees at 1.49% of the total purchase, in addition to large deposit fees for debit cards, which are at 3.49%. 

There are also flat fees for transactions on Gemini under $200. Here’s a quick breakdown of smaller transaction fees:
 

  • $10 or less = $0.99 fee
  • >$10 to $25 = $1.49
  • >$25 to $50 = $1.99
  • >$50 to $200 = $2.99
     

Here’s a breakdown of Gemini fees:
 

Payment Method Gemini Fee
Bank Account 1.49%
USD Wallet  1.49% 
Debit/Credit card 3.49%
ACH or Wire Transfer Free
Crypto Conversion 1.49%
Purchases 1.49%
Trades 1.49% 
Gemini Card transaction fee  0%

Security

Gemini is a “security-first” crypto exchange, becoming the first regulated exchange in the U.S.[3] It offers a wide range of security features, including multi-factor authentication and user role assignment. 
 

Here are a few of the security features Gemini offers:
 

  • Whitelisting approved addresses. Gemini allows users to create an approved address whitelist, which restricts access to wallet addresses that can withdraw cryptocurrency. In addition, there is a seven-day approval hold to ensure new addresses are vetted and approved before being approved for transfers.
     
  • User role management. Gemini users can create different user roles within their accounts. While admins can perform any function within the account, other roles can be restricted from accessing certain controls and have limited trading permissions.
     
  • Two-factor authentication. Gemini offers two-factor authentication (2FA) via SMS or the Authy app.
     
  • Hot wallet insurance. Gemini ensures digital assets in the Gemini Wallet (“hot wallet”). Gemini will reimburse users for loss of crypto from a security breach or hack, a fraudulent transfer, or employee theft. This is unique among digital wallets and allows users to store supported crypto in the Gemini Wallet without risking their assets.
     
  • Device management. Gemini shows any devices that have logged into your account, and users can restrict access to any devices they don’t recognize. Users can also end sessions from any device currently logged into their Gemini account.

Mobile Trading

Trade crypto on the go! The Gemini Mobile app puts the industry's best crypto exchange and wallet in your hands.

Opening an Account & Manager

To sign up for a Gemini account, users simply provide an email address and a password.

After verifying the email address, Gemini walks you through securing your account with two-factor authentication, either through SMS or with the Authy app.

Before buying or selling crypto, you will need to verify your identity with a government-issued photo ID by uploading a picture of it to the app or website.

This follows modern Know Your Customer (KYC) standards of security in the U.S. Once verified, you can connect a bank account or debit card to make crypto purchases.

Earning Category

Gemini Earn lets you earn interest on some of your crypto holdings, in a somewhat similar fashion to how you’d earn interest in a savings account.

With this feature, like counterparts offered by many crypto exchanges, you’re lending your crypto assets primarily to institutional investors for between 1.26% and 7.4% APY*, with interest paid out daily.

In a time of historically low-interest rates, these exceptionally high APYs can be very appealing, but keep in mind that unlike money in your savings account, the coins you loan out are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

In addition, while some of these rates are for stablecoins, whose values are tied to fiat currencies and therefore fluctuate less than other cryptos, many coins may experience large price swings, which could result in you losing money in pursuit of a higher interest rate.


Also, keep in mind that if you decide you want to withdraw coins from Gemini Earn, it may take up to five business days for your crypto to be removed from the Earn platform and credited to your regular Gemini account.

Trade Category

Gemini and Coinbase are crypto exchange platforms allowing traders to buy, sell, and trade various altcoins online.

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Research & Education

Get up to date with the latest Bitstamp company news and product updates. Learn how to get started with crypto or get additional insights into the market / Video / NewsRoom / Blog

Customer Support

Gemini does receive a fair amount of customer complaints, mainly around account verification and fund withdrawal issues.

Customers also complain that Gemini does not respond promptly to customer inquiries. 


Gemini has sought to address these issues by launching an improved customer support center in August of 2021, as well as lowering its email response time to 24 hours.

Overall, Gemini customers are looking for more support from the customer service department, which has created a very poor experience for some users.

frequently asked questions

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