Gemini Exchange Review On 8 Unique Parameters :)

Last updated on March 13th, 2023 at 06:37 am

Introduction

Gemini Cryptocurrency Exchange started in 2013 but it went live in 2015. Gemini is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) and believes in a “security-first” mentality. Further, it is also a fiduciary and Qualified Custodian for cryptocurrencies.

It is World’s first SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 certified crypto exchange and custodian. Quite impressive isn’t it? And that is the second most important reason for choosing to write on Gemini Exchange review. The first is its exceptional popularity amongst users from the United States of America.

Click here to register at Gemini >>

While undertaking Gemini exchange review I have identified the key parameters upon which we will base our analysis:

• Fee structure
• Security
• Trading Options
• Products Offered
• Number of Cryptocurrencies & Fiats supported
• User Friendliness
• Support
• Verification Process

With the above information, let’s now understand the above in detail.

1. Gemini Exchange Review: Fee structure

The fee structure in Gemini has two fee categories including:

• Convenience Fee
• Transaction Fee

Whenever you buy/sell crypto on Gemini, you have to pay both convenience and transaction fees.

Whenever you proceed with a transaction, you will see both these fees combined as the quoted price before the final purchase. Let’s look at both the fee in detail:

Convenience Fee

The convenience fee is 0.5% of the price of a trade. The final sum charged will vary depending on the selling price of the cryptocurrency. For example: Let’s say that you trade BTC worth $10,000, then you would pay $10,050 as the total amount inclusive of your convenience fee.

Transaction Fee

After the platform adds up your convenience fee, then you will have to pay the transaction based on the amount of trade.

The transaction amount fee varies as follows(for US users):

To make this clear let’s look at another example: Let’s say that you want to buy BTC worth $200. Currently, BTC is trading at $43,238.80, adding up the convenience fee it would be valued at $43,454.994! Now, Gemini will deduct the transaction fee of $2.99 from $200 i.e., 197.01, and then calculate your investment value against $43,238.80. The value here would be 0.0046 BTC!

Although the fee seems nominal, this might add up for a long time during frequent trades done in crypto!! But this can be minimised as the value of crypto increases over time and you will make a profit when the prices go up!

One more thing is that Gemini does not charge you any fee while withdrawing crypto to your account. Further, this is free until you stay under the limit of 10 withdrawals/ month!!

Comparing this to other exchanges such as Coinbase, which charges you a network fee for every time you transfer your coins to non-Coinbase crypto wallets. The minimum trading amount is the smallest amount of each traded coin (For example, the smallest amount to trade in BTC is 0.00001 BTC).

2. Gemini Exchange Review: Security

Gemini has made sure to implement multi-tier security for its cryptocurrency holdings.,

It secures users’ investments via multi-layer security. Here are the details:

• Two-Factor Authentication is mandatory for any transaction.
• Gemini follows address whitelisting to enable users to restrict cryptocurrency withdrawals across whitelisted crypto addresses.
• Gemini stores the majority of its holdings in offline cold storage systems. To make a withdrawal, multiple signatories are required.
• There are no private keys in Gemini, as all private keys are stored offsite in high-security data centres.
• Gemini performs rigorous background checks on its employees. Also, there’s an entire screening process throughout the employment of new employees.
• Access to production systems requires hardware security keys, which are not susceptible to phishing attacks.
• All hardware security modules have a high rating of FIPS 140-2 level 3 rating or higher.
• All HSM are widespread across secure data centres and they require a joint effort of multiple employees for operations.
• Gemini is compliant with PCI DSS to protect all debit/credit card data.

These were some of the advanced measures taken by Gemini to ensure the highest level of security. To go one step further Gemini hires independent third parties for penetration tests. This is done every year to identify & security vulnerabilities.

Gemini Exchange Review: Products Offered

There’s a wide variety of products that Gemini has launched for both New and Advanced investors. It maintains a separate section for Advanced traders i.e. Gemini Active Trader and a simple exchange for New traders.

Earn

You can earn an APY of up to 8.0% on your Cryptocurrencies lying with Gemini. Basically, your crypto earns more crypto without any additional effort. There’s a long list of cryptocurrencies that you can use to earn. It is available only to investors from the US, Hongkong and Singapore at present. You can register here to earn cryptos at Gemini

Credit Card

Gemini provides this facility only to its users based in the USA. You can earn up to a 3% instant crypto reward by using this card. Moreover, there is no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. Gemini has tied up with Master Card for providing Crypto based Credit Card to its users.

Gemini Pay

You can use your cryptocurrency to pay for everyday purchases. This product is available to the US customers only and they can use it at 30,000 retail locations across US.

Gemini Custody

You get institutional grade cryptocurrency storage with Gemini. The custodian is regulated as a New York State Trust Company with an insurance cover of over $200 Million.

Gemini Exchange Review: Number of Cryptocurrencies & Fiats Supported

Currently, Gemini supports 77+ cryptocurrencies including:

• BTC(Bitcoin)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Chainlink (LINK)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Polygon (MATIC)
• Dai (DAI)
• Uniswap(UNI)
• Bitcoin Cash(BCH)
• Litecoin(LTC)
• Filecoin(FIL)

Further, it supports 7 fiats USD, GBP, EUR, HKD, SGD, CAD, AUD

Gemini Exchange Review: User Friendliness

Gemini is one such platform that is suitable for both beginners and advanced crypto investors.

First of all, the Gemini platform is simple, basic, and intuitive for new investors, it is simple to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies over a few clicks. It resembles a standard stock trading platform providing a glimpse of the market activities with the tools to manage your investments in a single window.

All account transactions are visible on Gemini’s platform along with a detailed record of Gemini’s platform. A beginner can start adding funds with debit card/bank transfers enabling them to get started with ease!!

Being a technology-driven investment, Cryptocurrencies are still new to people. Most people still don’t understand how the crypto market works!! To make crypto investments easier for beginners, Gemini introduced Gemini Education.

Gemini Education

Under the Gemini education initiative, Gemini has taken multiple initiatives for investors to learn about crypto investing. Here are some measures under the Gemini Education:

• 5-minute crypto guides: 5-minute lessons for beginners to understand crypto-assets such as Bitcoin, Chainlink, etc. These lessons are divided into different sections to keep it simple & easy to understand.
• Glossary for crypto: The glossary is a complete repository of all the terms used in crypto trading. Search anything related to crypto & you will find it here!
• Video Webinars: Gemini conducts a lot of video webinars to learn about crypto trading. These are pre-recorded videos with topics such as “Cryptocurrency 201” or “Introduction to Ethereum”. You can watch them anytime to get a comprehensive overview of the topic.

All Gemini Education resources are free, and you do not have to log in to the Gemini account to view the instructional tools or videos.

Gemini Exchange Review: Support

Gemini follows the traditional approach of building a knowledge base, and it’s effective. There’s a repository of content available at your disposal!! All you have to do is to go to the support page and type in your query.

There are dedicated sections of guides & helpful content for trading, funding, withdrawing, Gemini pay, Gemini custody, Gemini credit card, etc.

Also, there’s support available via email, where you can share your query with the Gemini support team. Once your query is received by the Gemini support team, then you will get a response back in 24 hours.

Additionally, Gemini has its presence on the following channels:

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Linkedin

Gemini Exchange Review: Verification Process

The verification process for Gemini is quite simple! If you are a US citizen, then you have to provide proof of identity (such as driver’s license, passport, passport card, Green card).

In case you are an international applicant, then you need to provide your passport for proof of your citizenship. Also, you need to include a driver’s license or national ID for proof of residence.

Currently, Gemini operates in 60+ countries. Also, make sure that Gemini operates in your country by checking the complete list of the areas of availability!!

First, you can click here to register at Gemini >

Once you provide your details, then your application request would be taken up by the Gemini executives. It might take a few days for them to verify your account.

Also, Gemini suggests that you should check your documents before uploading to the platform. Expired documents might lead to further delays, also the document photo should be visible with all text & outlines.

In case you are having any issues with the verification process, then do not attempt to register with another account. Such an act might lead to further delays in the review process.

Instead, Gemini encourages you to put up your query over the support team!!

Summing Up with Pros & Cons

Well, to make it easier for you to decide here are the pros and cons of the Gemini platform that you can use before signing up:

Pros

• US Registered Exchange
• Advanced security measures
• Dedicated knowledge base for all beginners to learn
• Supports more than 77 cryptocurrencies.
• Easy to understand & simple UI for beginners with advanced features such as Active traders.
• Available in more than 60+ countries.

Cons

• The Fee is higher than others in the market probably because it has to fulfill mandatory guidelines

That’s it! Our review for the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange platform.