We are thrilled to announce the launch of [Cryptopedia](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia), a free resource that provides open-access, high-quality crypto education to the world.

Our mission at Gemini is to empower the individual through crypto and we believe that journey begins with understanding. We know that the lack of comprehensive education around crypto is one of the main barriers to entry and adoption for consumers — which is where Cryptopedia can help.

Cryptopedia caters to all levels of knowledge and interest — from the crypto-curious to the crypto-native. You can get started with the [fundamentals of Bitcoin](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/story/begin-with-bitcoin), take a deep dive into the [hottest projects in DeFi](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/explore#de-fi), explore how [trading and investing concepts](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/explore#trading-investing) apply to cryptocurrency, or learn about [cybersecurity best practices](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/explore#security) to keep your crypto safe. 

Cryptopedia is also a platform for crypto experts to share their knowledge with the world. Founders and thought leaders from some of the most prominent and innovative crypto projects — such as Brave CEO Brendan Eich, Aave CEO Stani Kulechov, Tezos co-founder Kathleen Breitman, and many more — have joined our [Expert Network](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/authors). We plan on further collaboration with these experts and invite other crypto leaders, visionaries, and technologists to __join us by emailing cryptopediasupport@gemini.com__.

We hope Cryptopedia becomes your go-to resource for all things crypto. Happy reading!

Onward and Upward,

Cameron Winklevoss
<br>President

[![02-10-2020 Cryptopedia blog banner](//images.ctfassets.net/jg6lo9a2ukvr/5oiTHYsfgjDrd6RCxGodv/84e3324e94dba3780d2aff2b22e89331/02-10-2020_Cryptopedia_blog_banner.png)](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia)

Gemini Launches Cryptopedia, A Free Crypto Education Platform

The Gemini dollar (GUSD) — **_the_** **_world’s first regulated stablecoin_** — is now supported on the following exchanges:

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*fHQAOFO2KkW22DEjFi_JIg.png)

[_abcc_](https://abcc.com/)_,_ [_B2BX_](https://www.b2bx.exchange/)_,_ [_BCEX_](https://www.bcex.ca/index/coins)_,_ [_Bibox_](https://www.bibox.com/?lang=en)_,_ [_BILAXY_](https://bilaxy.com/exchange)_,_ [_BitForex_](https://www.bitforex.com/)_,_ [_BITKOP_](https://www.bitkop.com/)_,_ [_BitMart_](https://www.bitmart.com/)_,_ [_Bit-Z_](https://www.bit-z.com/)_,_ [_BTEX_](https://btex.com/)_,_ [_BW.com_](https://www.bw.com/)_,_ [_CoinBene_](https://www.coinbene.com/#/)_,_ [_Coinsuper_](https://www.coinsuper.com/)_,_ [_DigiFinex_](https://www.digifinex.com/)_,_ [_EOSEX_](https://eosex.com/)_,_ [_EXMO_](https://exmo.com/)_,_ [_ExNow_](https://www.exnow.com/)_,_ [_FCOIN_](https://www.fcoin.com/)_,_ [_HitBTC_](https://hitbtc.com/)_,_ [_Huobi Global_](https://www.huobi.com/)_,_ [_LATOKEN_](https://latoken.com/)_,_ [_OEX.com_](https://www.oex.com/)_,_ [_OKCOIN_](https://www.okcoin.com/lang/en-US/)_,_ [_OKEX_](https://www.okex.com/lang/en-US/)_, and_ [_TheRockTrading_](https://www.therocktrading.com/)_._

The Gemini dollar is also supported by the following platforms:

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*vocgM60Pb7RprHBa2s1WOw.png)

[_Bitpay_](https://bitpay.com/)_,_ [_BlockFi_](https://blockfi.com/)_,_ [_Coinomi_](https://www.coinomi.com/)_, and_ [_CoinsBank_](https://coinsbank.com/)_._

To learn more, check out our [website](https://gemini.com/dollar/), [blog post](https://www.gemini.com/blog/gemini-launches-the-gemini-dollar-us-dollars-on-the-blockchain), [white paper](https://gemini.com/static/dollar/gemini-dollar-whitepaper.pdf), and [code repository](https://github.com/gemini/dollar).

You can send Gemini dollars to these exchanges or any wallet that supports ERC20 tokens by simply selecting the ‘[Withdraw as Gemini dollar](https://exchange.gemini.com/withdraw/usd/geminidollar)’ option in the navigation menu of your Gemini account, entering a destination address, and then choosing an amount of U.S. dollars you want to send.

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*CxYFbBHaA92geQTgrBRIiw.png)

As an ERC20 token, the Gemini dollar can easily be added to any exchange, wallet, or decentralized application (dApp). Feel free to contact us at [gusd@gemini.com](mailto:gusd@gemini.com) with additional questions on how your product or service can incorporate the Gemini dollar.

Onward and Upward,

Cameron + Tyler

Gemini dollar (GUSD) Is Now Supported by 25 Exchanges

Today it is with great excitement that we welcome Sydney Schaub to the Gemini team as our General Counsel of Gemini Trust Company, LLC.

Sydney joins us with extensive experience working at technology companies changing the world: she started her career at Google (helping organize the world’s information), then as Associate General Counsel of Square (helping revolutionize payments) and most recently as General Counsel at Rent the Runway (helping reshape e-commerce), where she led the legal functions. Today she will begin helping Gemini **_build the future of money_**.

Upon her arrival, Sydney will be focused on building out our in-house legal team and working on, among other things, expanding the services of the Gemini Spaceship to new galaxies far, far away.

Welcome to the team Sydney!

If you’re interested in joining Sydney and the rest of the Gemini team on our journey to build the future of money, we’re hiring in our New York, NY and Portland, OR offices! Check out our [careers page](https://gemini.com/careers/) for more information.

Onward and Upward,

Cameron

Welcoming Our General Counsel

When we founded Gemini over four years ago, our mission was simple: **_build a bridge to the future of money_**. As a first step, this meant making it safe and easy to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether, and Zcash. However, when fiat currency and cryptocurrency interact, the differences between the traditional banking system and cryptocurrencies become increasingly clear. While cryptocurrencies operate 24/7/365 (similar to email), fiat currencies only operate during specific “business hours” (like snail mail)  —  a fundamental mismatch. As a next step in our mission, we must improve the linkage between these worlds by giving fiat currency the same desirable technological qualities of cryptocurrencies.

To date, there has been no **_trusted and regulated_** digital representation of the U.S. dollar that moves in an open, decentralized manner like cryptocurrencies. Enter the **Gemini dollar**_ — _ a stable value coin (often called a “stablecoin”) that is (i) issued by Gemini, a New York trust company, (ii) strictly pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, and (iii) built on the Ethereum network according to the ERC20 standard for tokens. The Gemini dollar (**ticker symbol:** **GUSD**) combines the creditworthiness and price stability of the U.S. dollar with blockchain technology and the oversight of U.S. regulators, namely, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). You can read more about the Gemini dollar  —  **_the world’s first regulated stablecoin_**  —  in our white paper [here](https://gemini.com/static/dollar/gemini-dollar-whitepaper.pdf).

Starting today, **September 10, 2018** at **10am ET**,  you will be able to convert U.S. dollars in your Gemini account into Gemini dollars and withdraw them to an Ethereum address you specify. You will also be able to automatically convert Gemini dollars into U.S. dollars by depositing them into your Gemini account.

The U.S dollars that correspond to the Gemini dollars issued and in circulation will be held at a bank located in the United States and eligible for FDIC “pass-through” deposit insurance, subject to applicable limitations. In addition, the U.S dollar deposit balance will be examined monthly by an independent registered public accounting firm to verify the 1:1 peg. All Independent Accountants’ Reports will be publicly available [here](https://gemini.com/dollar/#reports). Further, the smart contracts underlying the Gemini dollar token have been fully audited and formally verified by an independent security firm, whose report is publicly available [here](https://gemini.com/static/dollar/gemini-dollar-trailofbits-audit.pdf).

We are excited to bring the Gemini dollar to market and provide a crucial link between the traditional banking system and the new, rapidly growing crypto economy. With the Gemini dollar, we continue to deliver on our mission  —  **_to build the future of money_**  —  and help transform the global financial system to enable possibilities previously unimaginable. For questions or other inquiries, please contact us at [gusd@gemini.com](mailto:gusd@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward,

Cameron and Tyler

Gemini Launches the Gemini Dollar: U.S. Dollars on the Blockchain

In keeping with our mission to build the future of money and our belief in the importance of thoughtful regulation in the virtual currency industry, we have decided to join the Virtual Commodity Association (VCA) working group.

Per the [initial proposal](https://www.gemini.com/blog/a-proposal-for-a-self-regulatory-organization-for-the-u-s-virtual-currency-industry), the VCA is an industry-sponsored, self-regulatory organization (SRO) for the U.S. virtual currency industry, specifically virtual commodity exchanges and custodians.

The SRO approach has historically worked to protect and police various markets. For example, the National Futures Association (NFA) is an SRO for the U.S. derivatives industry and is a model for how the VCA will work together with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to provide additional oversight to virtual commodity cash markets. The promise of virtual commodities and their impact on the future will be profound — but individuals and institutions need to feel safe and secure when transacting on marketplaces. A thoughtful SRO framework that provides a virtual commodity regulatory program for the virtual commodity industry is the next logical step in the maturation of this market.

We believe adding a layer of oversight on virtual commodity cash markets, in the form of self-regulation, is important for consumer protection and to ensure the integrity of these markets. We look forward to participating in the VCA with our peers and working with industry leaders, participants, regulators, and legislators.

For further details, please read through the [VCA’s press release](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180820005066/en/Virtual-Commodity-Association-Working-Group-Formed-Planning) and visit the [VCA website](http://virtualcommodities.org/).

If you are interested in becoming a future member of the VCA or looking for more information, please email:

[inquiries@virtualcommodities.org](mailto:inquiries@virtualcommodities.org).

Onward and Upward,

Cameron + Tyler

Joining the Virtual Commodity Association

Building a rules-based marketplace is critical to our mission to build the future of money — individuals and institutions need to feel safe and secure when trading. To that end, we are excited to announce that over the coming months we will be implementing Nasdaq’s [SMARTS Market Surveillance](http://business.nasdaq.com/market-tech/marketplaces/market-surveillance) technology to monitor our marketplace.

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*t_XV97YHFXIFljsR.png)

SMARTS Market Surveillance, which is considered the most widely deployed surveillance system in the world, will enable us to monitor across all of our trading pairs, including BTC/USD, ETH/USD and ETH/BTC. Further, SMARTS will surveil our newly launched Gemini Block Trading™, as well as Gemini Auctions™, which are used to determine the settlement price for the Bitcoin (USD) Futures Contracts that trade on Cboe’s CFE Exchange under the ticker symbol “XBT” ([contract specifications](https://cfe.cboe.com/cfe-products/xbt-cboe-bitcoin-futures/contract-specifications) | [fact sheet](https://cfe.cboe.com/products/bitcoin-qrg.pdf)).

Adding trade surveillance technology is the most recent development in our efforts to build a rules-based marketplace, which already includes: (i) an Information Sharing Agreement with Cboe Exchange, Inc. allowing for cross-market surveillance, (ii) our internal Trading Policy with respect to material nonpublic information, and (iii) our Marketplace Conduct Rules that apply to all trading on our marketplace.

Our market surveillance team looks forward to using Nasdaq’s Alerts Development Environment and Alerts Management System to become a market leader in custom surveillance rule creation and alerting for the crypto-asset market. We believe that it is this advanced functionality combined with Nasdaq’s proven, rule-based approach to traditional financial market surveillance that will allow for the most thorough monitoring of the evolving crypto-asset marketplace, today and into the future.

Gemini looks forward to a long and productive relationship with Nasdaq.

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

Introducing Marketplace Surveillance Technology

As part of our mission to continue to improve and expand our platform, we are excited to launch Gemini Block TradingTM, a fully electronic block trading facility. Block Trading enables our customers to buy and sell large quantities of digital assets outside of Gemini’s continuous order books, creating an additional mechanism to source liquidity when trading in greater size. Gemini Block TradingTM will go live at 9:30am ET on **Thursday April 12th.**

**Here’s how it works:** Any customer can place a block order that specifies: (i) buy or sell, (ii) quantity, (iii) minimum required fill quantity, (iv) and a price limit (the “Indication of Interest”). Market makers only receive quantity, minimum quantity, and the collar price — they _do not_ receive any other information (i.e., side, price limit, etc.) related to the block order. If a market maker agrees to “make a market” that satisfies the Indication of Interest, the block order will be filled. To learn more, please see our [Marketplace page](https://gemini.com/fees/marketplace#introduction). To participate as a market maker in Gemini Block TradingTM or for further information, please contact [bizdev@gemini.com](mailto:BizDev@gemini.com).

In accordance with our commitment to an equitable, transparent, and rules-based marketplace, block orders will be electronically broadcast to participating market makers simultaneously, ensuring best execution and price discovery for those participating in the program. Block orders do not interact with our continuous or auction order books. Trade information will be published via our market data feeds ten minutes following the execution of a block trade.

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

Gemini Block Trading is now live! Buy, sell, and trade large amounts of cryptocurrency today.

Gemini Block trading is live! Buy and sell large quantities of Bitcoin and more

Introducing Gemini Block Trading

Beginning April 2, 2018, we will be updating our fee schedule for each of our three trading pairs: BTC/USD, ETH/USD, and ETH/BTC. You can see our updated Trading Fee Schedule [here](https://gemini.com/legal/user-agreement#marketplace-fee-schedules). This new fee schedule will go into effect at midnight UTC, April 2, 2018 (7:00 pm ET, April 1, 2018), and then be applied to all trades going forward from that time.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our support team at [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

Update to the Gemini Trading Fee Schedule

As part of Gemini’s mission to build the future of money, we believe in the importance of thoughtful regulation in the virtual currency industry. Starting in 2014, we worked with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) to obtain a trust company license for Gemini’s exchange and custody business. In 2017, as part of the development of the [Cboe Bitcoin (USD) Futures Contract](https://gemini.com/blog/cboe-and-gemini-to-launch-first-ever-bitcoin-futures-contract-ticker-xbt/), we entered into an Information Sharing Agreement with the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE), owned by Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe) and registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to allow CFE to perform cross-market surveillance of Gemini’s marketplace. Lastly, we have adopted an internal Trading Policy with respect to material nonpublic information, as well as [Marketplace Conduct Rules](https://gemini.com/legal/user-agreement#marketplace-conduct-rules) for all trading on our marketplace, in an effort to foster a rules-based marketplace.

With that said, there has been recent discussion among U.S. regulators and legislators about the need for further oversight and self-regulation of the virtual currency industry. When evaluating this need, it is important to first note that the term virtual currency (often used interchangeably with the terms “digital asset,” “digital currency,” or “cryptocurrency”) can refer to different asset types including virtual commodities like bitcoin, and separately, tokens built “on top of” blockchains that are securities (i.e., “security tokens,” which are sometimes issued via initial coin offerings (ICOs)). The legal status of bitcoin as a commodity was established by the CFTC in the 2015 order against Coinflip, Inc. This order stated that “Bitcoin and other virtual currencies” fall under the definition of a “commodity” as defined in Section 1a(9) of the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936 (CEA). This was recently confirmed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. As a result, virtual commodities like bitcoin (as a group, these are referred to in this document as “virtual commodities”) are “exempt commodities,” which is the same category in which the CFTC places metals and energy commodities, including gold, silver, oil, and natural gas. The cash markets (or spot markets) for exempt commodities, including virtual commodities, do not fall under the jurisdiction of the CFTC; however, the CFTC does have fraud and manipulation enforcement jurisdiction over these markets and market participants under the CEA. The legal status of whether or not a token is a security (i.e., not a virtual commodity) is determined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has traditionally been guided by the Howey Test and other SEC enforcement precedent when making these types of determinations. Unlike virtual commodities, security tokens and cash markets for security token transactions fall under the direct jurisdiction of the SEC and the federal securities laws, rules, and regulations.

The purchase and sale of commodities in the spot/cash markets has been historically exempt from the CEA and CFTC jurisdiction because cash market transactions, unlike derivative contracts, are: (i) traded for immediate delivery, (ii) settle “on the spot,” and (iii) are often underpinned by a commercial purpose (i.e., a farmer selling grain). As a result, these transactions are typically found to not be speculative in nature or readily susceptible to manipulation.

Cash markets for virtual commodities, however, are unique inasmuch as: (a) the commercial use-cases for virtual commodities are still developing, (b) there is strong speculative interest, © these marketplaces involve a large number of individual participants, and (d) technology makes individual transaction costs exceptionally low (on a relative basis) as compared to other physical commodity spot markets. As such, we believe adding an additional layer of oversight on virtual commodity cash markets, in the form of self-regulation, is important for consumer protection and to ensure the integrity of these markets. Below, we outline a proposal for the **Virtual Commodity Association** (the “**VCA**”), an industry sponsored self-regulatory organization for the U.S. virtual currency industry, specifically virtual commodity exchanges and custodians (collectively, “platforms”). The VCA: (i) will be a non-profit, independent regulatory organization that does not operate any markets, (ii) will not be a trade association, (iii) will not provide regulatory programs for security tokens or security token platforms, and (iv) will be in compliance with global standards and best practices for SROs.

PURPOSE

*   Foster financially sound, responsible, and innovative virtual commodity markets through a system of industry sponsored standards, sound practices, and oversight that promotes price discovery, efficiency, and transparency.
*   Incentivize the detection and deterrence of manipulative and fraudulent acts and practices, including partnering with regulators and particularly the CFTC to share or refer information, as appropriate.
*   Require member firms to commit in writing, upon joining **VCA**, to operating their virtual commodity markets in compliance with Sound Practices, described below; and provide a sanctions based accountability program to compel ongoing member compliance.

STRUCTURE — MEMBERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

*   Open for membership to virtual commodity platforms, over-the-counter (OTC) trading firms, and other trading facilities acting as counterparties that:
*   Provide an all-to-all platform or venue, available to U.S. participants, for transacting in the spot virtual commodity markets; or
*   Provide OTC or off-exchange services, available to U.S. participants, for transacting in the spot virtual commodity markets.
*   When applicable, the entities must otherwise be in compliance with and have obtained relevant licenses required to operate a business that involves holding customer fiat funds and the custody of customer virtual commodities.
*   To be governed by a Board of Directors — Board structure to come (including a required number of independent directors); funded by member fees.
*   To consider other potential member types in the future; website to come.

SOUND PRACTICES — ANNUAL CERTIFICATION BY MEMBERS

*   Members shall certify to **VCA**, annually, that they are in compliance with “Sound Practices,” including:
*   **Responsible Financial Management** — Establish a transparent program of financial responsibility and controls for members to ensure confidence in the fiscal soundness of members and to encourage customer confidence.
*   **Transparency; Conflicts of Interest** — Provide appropriate transparency regarding bids, offers, executions, and other relevant data to the public; adopt policies to avoid conflicts of interest.
*   **Rules Based Markets** — Maintain and enforce a system of marketplace conduct rules; and implement policies and procedures to respond to and address customer concerns and complaints.
*   **Cyber and Information Security; Recordkeeping** — Implement and maintain current best practices with respect to cybersecurity, information security, and recordkeeping.
*   **Surveillance** — Monitor and surveil markets to detect and deter (and where appropriate, discipline) manipulative and fraudulent acts and practices.
*   **Information Sharing** — Agree to enter into information sharing agreements for the purposes of marketplace surveillance with other members and with regulated exchanges and trading platforms that list products based on virtual commodities.
*   **Cooperation With Regulators** — Among other things, agree to report instances of manipulative and fraudulent conduct to the CFTC and other regulators as appropriate.
*   **Legal Analysis** — Agree to perform proper diligence and legal analysis when determining the legal status of a virtual commodity for listing and trading in order to avoid listing and trading security tokens, unless the member has obtained necessary licenses for security tokens.

PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE VCA AND ITS BOARD

*   Facilitate the periodic examination of members and issue a report indicating whether the member is adhering to its primary obligations and complying with Sound Practices;
*   Where members fail to comply with Sound Practices, impose agreed upon sanctions; and
*   Interact with and educate regulators (such as the CFTC or the SEC) and legislators.

CONCLUSION

The SRO approach has historically worked to protect and police various markets. For example, the National Futures Association is an SRO for the U.S. derivatives industry and is a model for how the VCA can work together with the CFTC to provide additional oversight to virtual commodity cash markets. The promise of virtual commodities and their impact on the future will be profound — but individuals and institutions need to feel safe and secure when transacting. We believe a thoughtful SRO framework that provides a virtual commodity regulatory program for the virtual commodity industry is the next logical step in the maturation of this market. We look forward to engaging with industry leaders, participants, regulators, and legislators on this proposal. If you would like to discuss this further, please email: [inquiries@virtualcommodities.org](mailto:inquiries@virtualcommodities.org).

Onward and Upward,

Cameron + Tyler

A Proposal for a Self-Regulatory Organization for the U.S. Virtual Currency Industry

Gemini is proud to announce the successful first settlement of January expiry Bitcoin Futures, which trade on the Cboe Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) under the ticker “XBT” ([contract specifications](https://cfe.cboe.com/cfe-products/xbt-cboe-bitcoin-futures/contract-specifications) | [fact sheet](https://cfe.cboe.com/products/bitcoin-qrg.pdf)).

The settlement price was $10,900.00, as determined by Gemini’s 4pm Eastern Time BTCUSD auction, in which 616.86 bitcoin traded — a notional value of $6.72m USD.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, and Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini), the world’s most regulated digital asset exchange and custodian, partnered to launch the first-ever bitcoin futures contract on December 10, 2017. Since inception, over 124,000 contracts have traded across expiries, representing a notional value of over $1.5bn USD.

Ed Tilly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cboe, stated: “This is an encouraging initial milestone, and we look forward to working with customers to power the growth of this nascent market.”

Please visit our website to learn more about [Gemini auctions](https://gemini.com/fees/marketplace#introduction), accessing our [APIs and consuming Gemini market data](https://docs.gemini.com/rest-api/), and our [institutional offering](https://gemini.com/institutions/), including cross-connects to our matching engine. Please Visit Cboe’s website to learn more about [XBT futures](https://cfe.cboe.com/cfe-products/xbt-cboe-bitcoin-futures) and [Quote Vendor Symbols](http://cfe.cboe.com/trade-cfe/quote-vendor-symbols/xbt-cboe-bitcoin-futures).

Onward and Upward!

Team Gemini

Successful First Settlement of Bitcoin Futures

Gemini is excited to announce that **Bitcoin (USD) Futures Contracts** will begin trading on the Cboe Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) starting at **6:00 p.m. EST** on Sunday **December 10th, 2017** under the ticker symbol “**XBT**” ([contract specifications](https://cfe.cboe.com/cfe-products/xbt-cboe-bitcoin-futures/contract-specifications) | [fact sheet](https://cfe.cboe.com/products/bitcoin-qrg.pdf)). Monday, December 11th, will be the first full day of trading, and there will be no trading fees for XBT futures in the month of December.

XBT futures are cash-settled contracts based on Gemini’s auction price for bitcoin, denominated in U.S. dollars. XBT futures are specifically designed to allow participants to implement straightforward trading strategies, through settlement to a single, tradeable auction price.

*   XBT futures will cash-settle on the Wednesday prior to the third Friday of the month
*   Final settlement value (XBTS) will reflect the Gemini 4:00 p.m. ET daily bitcoin auction price
*   XBT futures will enable investors to take a directional view on the price of bitcoin (both long and short), gain exposure to bitcoin prices, or hedge their existing bitcoin positions
*   XBT futures will bring benefits to traders, including transparency, efficient price discovery, deep liquidity and centralized clearing
*   CFE is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
*   Gemini is a New York trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS)
*   Gemini and CFE have cross-market surveillance and information-sharing agreements in place

Visit our website to learn more about [Gemini auctions](https://gemini.com/marketplace/#auctions), accessing our [APIs and consuming Gemini market data](https://docs.gemini.com/rest-api/), and our [institutional offering](https://gemini.com/institutions/) as well as cross-connects to our matching engine. Visit Cboe’s website to learn more about [XBT futures](https://cfe.cboe.com/cfe-products/xbt-cboe-bitcoin-futures) and [Quote Vendor Symbols](http://cfe.cboe.com/trade-cfe/quote-vendor-symbols/xbt-cboe-bitcoin-futures).

Onward and Upward!

Team Gemini

Cboe and Gemini to Launch First-Ever Bitcoin Futures Contract — Ticker: XBT

Due to a disagreement among Bitcoin developers and other community stakeholders, Bitcoin will undergo a “hard fork” in mid-November; essentially, it may split into two separate and viable cryptocurrencies each vying for the name _Bitcoin_. Previously, Bitcoin underwent a hard fork on August 1, 2017, splitting into two separate chains; however, both communities were in agreement as to which chain would be called _Bitcoin_, and which chain would be called _Bitcoin Cash_. All signs point to the upcoming hard fork not having the same consensus with regard to naming.

In light of this, beginning approximately one day before the anticipated time of the fork (estimated to be November 16, 2017), Gemini will temporarily disable all bitcoin withdrawals and crediting of bitcoin deposits. Both U.S. Dollar (USD) and ether (ETH) deposits and withdrawals will be unaffected.

Our [policy on chain splits](https://gemini.com/blog/information-related-to-geminis-policy-on-an-upcoming-chain-split/) has been in place for several months. To reiterate what we wrote then:

*   The “BTC” balance and trading activity you see on Gemini will likely reflect the chain with the greater total difficulty.
*   We may choose to eventually open new order books for the chain with less total difficulty.
*   We will make every effort to support withdrawals of the chain with less total difficulty, if it ends up having a significant amount of hash power, exchange volume, or economic value.

We have decided to use this existing policy for the upcoming hard fork, and we will be measuring total cumulative computational difficulty of the blockchain to determine what we will call Bitcoin and BTC and on the Gemini platform.

The cumulative computational difficulty is an objective and observable metric that is impossible to fake or “game.” It may not be a usable framework in all future chain split situations, but it works for this one. While we fully appreciate that some may disagree and have differing viewpoints on the naming of a given fork, we have yet to come across another framework that achieves the qualities mentioned above.

During this time, our BTC/USD, ETH/USD, and ETH/BTC matching engines will remain open for trading. After at least a 48 hour period following the hard fork, once we believe the Bitcoin network has stabilized, and once we are confident that all customer funds on the exchange have been fully protected from transaction replay, we will reopen deposits and withdrawals on the network that has the greatest cumulative computational difficulty. We will then work to support withdrawals on the chain with less cumulative difficulty if it ends up having a significant amount of hash power, exchange volume, or economic value, and possibly even open new order books.

If you have any questions, please contact Gemini customer support at [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward!

Team Gemini

P.S. We’ve heard a few people asking about another fork, Bitcoin Gold (BTG). We’ve done a technical evaluation of Bitcoin Gold and determined that it is still early in its software development phase. There is technically no way we could support Bitcoin Gold at this point, even if we wanted to. If Bitcoin Gold ever becomes a viable cryptocurrency, we might consider offering Bitcoin Gold withdrawal capabilities, similar to what we’ve done for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).

Upcoming Bitcoin Hard Fork: Modified Exchange Operations

A little over a month ago we published [an announcement](https://gemini.com/blog/update-2-bitcoin-hard-fork-bitcoin-cash/) regarding our ongoing engineering efforts to allow withdrawal of bitcoin cash (BCH) for customers who had bitcoin balances at the time of the chain split.

We are pleased to announce that as of **Saturday**, **October 7, 2017**, Gemini will allow all customers to view their BCH balance and request a withdrawal via the [BCH withdrawal request page](https://exchange.gemini.com/withdraw/bch). If you choose to request a BCH withdrawal, your entire BCH balance will be transferred to your chosen withdrawal address.

BCH requests are not sent onto the blockchain immediately. The first time we will process all submitted BCH withdrawal requests will be Wednesday, October 11 at 1pm EDT. After that point, requests will be honored within 5 business days from the time of your request. _Example:_ If you request on Saturday, October 21, 2017, your transfer will be executed on or by Friday, October 27, 2017.

Although we do not currently have plans to open order books for BCH trading, we will continue to update our customers as the BCH situation evolves further.

Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout the implementation of this withdrawal feature. If you have any questions, please [contact us](https://support.gemini.com/hc/requests/new).

Onward and Upward!

Withdraw Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more on Gemini today!

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Withdrawals are now live!

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Withdrawals

We have been receiving a few questions regarding the custody of our customer’s Bitcoin Cash. Because of Gemini’s fiduciary obligations under the New York Banking Law, **_which we take very seriously_**, we are going to great lengths to ensure all of our customers’ assets on a forked blockchain, like “Bitcoin Cash,” are preserved. **_Under no circumstances will we capture those funds for our own use_**. Instead, as stated in our August 3rd [blog post](https://gemini.com/blog/update-bitcoin-hard-fork-bitcoin-cash/), we are focusing our engineering resources on (i) ensuring that our customers’ funds are secure and not susceptible to theft (e.g., replay attacks), and (ii) building a withdrawal mechanism.

In the coming weeks, we will open a facility to allow customers to withdraw (probably on an all-or-none basis) their BCC balances to an off-platform address of their choosing. This is conceptually what we did for the ETH/ETC fork as well, which you can read about in a [previous post](https://gemini.com/blog/update-2-ether-classic-withdrawals/).

Securing our customers’ assets is our highest priority and fiduciary responsibility — any modifications we make to our digital asset storage system (including support for a one-time withdrawal), are made with extreme caution and require extensive security review to ensure the integrity of our customers’ assets. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we build this functionality in a safe, secure, and responsible manner. We will continue post material updates when we have them.

If you have additional questions regarding Bitcoin Cash withdrawals, please contact support at [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward!

Team Gemini

UPDATE #2: Bitcoin Hard Fork / Bitcoin Cash

### August 2017

Our primary production environment is currently hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). As we’ve taken on more system load, we have had to scale up these services. On August 16th and 17th, we started hitting [Amazon’s IOPS burst quota](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSVolumeTypes.html), which then cascaded to pause our core matching engine. When our matching engine paused, we were forced to bring down the rest of our system to diagnose the problem. These disruptions lasted from approximately 12:18 PM EDT to 9:30 PM EDT on August 16th and 12:40 PM EDT to 3:30 PM EDT on August 17th.

The matching engine component of the Gemini platform was the only component affected by this infrastructure failure. When we brought down the entire system for maintenance, we temporarily suspended deposit and withdrawal processing. At no time were customers funds or accounts at risk, and there was no security impact on our online and offline digital asset storage systems. To remedy this issue, we’ve increased our Amazon IOPS burst quota by over 100x and scaled up the machines that we have running the core matching engine.

This is not the first scaling challenge we’ve encountered, and it won’t be the last — but usually we’re able to resolve these sorts of issues behind the scenes. We already have a system in place to monitor for degraded exchange performance and alert our Site Reliability team so they can remediate the problem before it affects our customers. We’ve upgraded to a larger and different instance type that supports a higher IOPS burst quota and allows us to monitor it. And we’re continuing to improve our performance and infrastructure monitoring so we can anticipate potential problems more quickly in the future.

We realize that our communication during the system outage was not consistent with the quality experience you have come to expect from Gemini, and we will be improving our communication plan going forward, taking into account the feedback we’ve received.

Some customer trading activity during this period was affected, and we will be reaching out to those customers within the coming days with more detailed information. If you have any questions about this outage, please don’t hesitate to [contact Gemini customer support](https://support.gemini.com/hc/requests/new) with specific details.

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

### November 2017

As many are aware, Bitcoin attained new peaks of value on November 28th and into November 29th. On the morning of November 29th, our Web interface experienced an unprecedented increase in traffic which impacted the performance and availability of our Web interface and to a lesser extent our API servers. At no time was this increase in traffic an attack on any of our systems and our customers’ funds remain secure. This was solely a result of an unprecedented surge of requests on our platform.

Throughout the events that lasted from 10:11AM EST through 07:11PM EST, we made repeated attempts to tune the system to handle the extremely high traffic on the Web server. Most of these attempts were met with new, higher spikes in activity. The API remained unimpacted during the majority of the time that our Web interface was experiencing the excessive traffic, and our FIX and matching engines continued to fully operate throughout.

The environment stabilized at 7:11PM EST and, after monitoring the mitigation for a period of time, we communicated to our customers at 8:45PM EST on our [status page](https://status.gemini.com/) that both our Web and API interfaces were in full functioning order.

As many of you may know, in August we migrated our primary trading platform and network PoP (Point of Presence) to our own hardware in the [Equinix NY5](https://docs.gemini.com/fix-marketdata/#connecting) data center in Secaucus, New Jersey. The downtime on November 29th was due to an application tuning issue, and our servers in the data center had plenty of room to scale. Still, in preparation for events such as the one above, we have forecasted and prepared for increasing capacity and were already installing our new hardware when this occurred. We plan to bring this new capacity online in the near future to continue scaling our infrastructure to better service our customers and community. The security and availability of our Web, API, and FIX interfaces is our first concern and we strive to have them available for all our customers at all times.

Onward and Upward!

Team Gemini

2017 Production Outage Updates

Since the “hard fork” on August 1st, 2017, we have been monitoring the situation closely. Currently, Gemini **_does not_** support trading or withdrawals of the newly forked chain (BCC / BCH / BCash). As we first [wrote](https://gemini.com/blog/information-related-to-geminis-policy-on-an-upcoming-chain-split/) on March 20th, 2017, and later updated on July 26, 2017, we will make _every effort_ to support withdrawals for the chain with less total difficulty (in this case BCC). As a result, we are currently working on a technical implementation for a one-time withdrawal of BCC for our customers. With that said, any modifications we make to our digital asset storage system (including support for a one-time withdrawal), are made with extreme caution and require extensive security review to ensure the integrity of our customers’ assets. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we take the next few weeks to build this functionality in a safe, secure, and responsible manner. We will post material updates when we have them.

If you have any questions, please contact Gemini customer support at [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini 

UPDATE: Bitcoin Hard Fork / Bitcoin Cash

**UPDATE** 8/01/17 6:45 PM EDT: Gemini has resumed all bitcoin withdrawals and crediting of deposits.

Beginning at 6:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, July 31, 2017 (22:00 UTC), Gemini will temporarily disable all bitcoin withdrawals and crediting of deposits in advance of any Bitcoin hard and/or soft forks. Both USD and ether deposit and withdrawal functionality will be unaffected.

We will resume allowing bitcoin withdrawals and crediting deposits after we believe the Bitcoin Network has stabilized, which is anticipated to be sometime Wednesday, August 2, 2017 (EDT). Gemini users may still trade bitcoin on our BTC/USD and ETH/BTC matching engines and participate in our BTC/USD auctions while bitcoin deposits and withdrawals are temporarily disabled.

If you have any questions, please contact Gemini customer support at [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

Bitcoin Hard & Soft Forks: Modified Exchange Operations

We launched our first daily [bitcoin](https://gemini.com/prices/bitcoin "Bitcoin Price Page") auction on September 21, 2016. Encouraged by its success and ability to match buyers and sellers at a single moment of the day, we launched an East Asian Timezone daily auction on March 21, 2017. We would now like to offer the same kind of price discovery we have facilitated for bitcoin traders over the past year for ether traders. As a result, we will be launching a daily 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time [**_ether auction_**](https://gemini.com/prices/ethereum "Ether Price Page") starting on Friday, July 28, 2017! The mechanics will be the same as our bitcoin auctions; please see [https://gemini.com/marketplace/#auction](https://gemini.com/marketplace/#auction) for details.

Daily auctions are universally implemented by traditional asset exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, and Bats. They increase price discovery and transparency, and they reduce costs across the board by making sure that buyers and sellers don’t miss each other during the trading day. In addition, we are confident that our Auction will bring you the benefits of over-the-counter (OTC) trading without the overhead, hassle, and lack of transparency.

#### How Do Auctions Benefit Gemini Customers?

Auctions aim to facilitate high volumes of trading between customers at a fair price by matching the maximum quantity to be bought and sold. Auctions provide the following benefits to our customers:

*   **Greater Price Discovery**: Auctions focus market participants and economic information at a single moment in the day, resulting in better price discovery.
*   **Deeper Liquidity**: Execute larger trades with less market price impact or “slippage.” Because Auctions are at a single moment in the day, more buyers and sellers are able to converge and provide more liquidity on both sides of the market.
*   **Mark-to-Market Benchmark Price:** Auctions provide an official 4:00 p.m. ET end-of-day price for marking assets to market (e.g., for accounting purposes or for calculating returns).
*   **Instant Settlement:** Auction trades settle immediately and funds are ready for immediate transfer (unlike OTC trades that can require phone calls, emails, specialized paperwork, risk during funds transfer, etc.).
*   **No Counterparty Risk:** Auction trades settle immediately from pre-funded accounts, eliminating the risk that your counterparty will back out of a trade (unlike OTC trades which are typically not pre-funded).

#### How Do Auctions Work?

All eligible orders are filled at the _final auction price_. The _final auction price_ of each Auction is determined by finding the price at which the greatest aggregate buy demand and aggregate sell demand from all participating orders can be filled (i.e., the price at which the largest quantity can trade). The mechanics of this auction are very similar to the closing auction (or “closing cross”) on the major electronic U.S. stock exchanges (e.g., Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, Bats). For a more detailed discussion, please see our [Marketplace](https://gemini.com/marketplace/) page.

#### How Can You Participate in Auctions?

Easy! Customers can enter Auction-Only (AO) Market and Auction-Only (AO) Limit Orders to buy or to sell beginning well before the Auction time.

Beginning 10 minutes before the Auction time, _indicative auction prices_ are broadcast via both our market data API and our website frontend. A new _indicative auction price_ is calculated every minute until the Auction time, based on the order book at that time, and every 15 seconds during the final minute. (These indicative prices are calculated by simulating the auction process for the order books if Auction were to occur at that time.)

#### How to Buy or Sell Large Quantities in Gemini’s Daily Auctions:

Leading up to auction, liquidity providers place Auction-Only Orders on both the bid side and offer side of the market . These liquidity providers often compete for greater influence in the auction by tightening these spreads. That ultimately benefits all Auction participants.

These liquidity providers also monitor the _indicative auction prices_. If they observe new liquidity demands in a particular Auction, they stand ready to modify their own Auction-Only Orders in order to facilitate liquidity demands. If you want to buy or sell a large quantity during one of the Auctions, we therefore recommend that you submit it approximately 10 minutes before the Auction time. This will give liquidity providers time to respond and to give your order access to increased liquidity.

#### Questions?

If you have any questions regarding Auction mechanics or the benefits that Auction may provide you, please check out our [Marketplace](https://gemini.com/marketplace/) page for a detailed description, or contact [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

Introducing Daily Ether Auctions

**UPDATED** 7/26/17 3:30 PM EDT.

A number of customers have asked how Gemini will respond if the Bitcoin network splits into two separate Blockchains (often called a “fork”) sometime soon. Our highest priority at Gemini — more important even than keeping our exchange open — is ensuring that all of our customers’ asset balances are held securely.

We know that some of our customers have strong opinions on how Bitcoin should evolve. At Gemini, however, it’s not our place to drive the discussion. In the event of a chain split, we will carefully consider our response and how to move forward. We understand that our customers have diverse opinions on this subject, and we will do our best to incorporate your suggestions.

We certainly _prefer_ and _encourage_ a “clean” chain split, no matter which side of the scaling debate wins, but we are preparing for a variety of outcomes. In the event that we detect a chain split or anticipate an imminent chain split, we will temporarily suspend BTC deposits and withdrawals. During that time, we will evaluate our response and post updates here on this blog. We will endeavor to resume deposits and withdrawals as soon as we’re safely able to do so, but that process may take up to a week to complete.

However, as an indication of what we are currently planning:

*   The “BTC” balance and trading activity you see on Gemini will _likely_ reflect the chain with the greater total difficulty.
*   We may choose to eventually open new order books for the chain with less total difficulty.
*   We will make _every effort_ to support withdrawals of the chain with less total difficulty, if it ends up having a significant amount of hashpower, exchange volume, or economic value.

We understand that the policies listed above leave quite a lot to Gemini’s discretion. We would rather have clearly defined policies in place right now; however, it’s unclear what will happen on the Blockchain in the coming days, weeks, and months, and we would much rather play it safe than make hasty, ill-informed decisions and risk mismanaging your funds. As soon as we gain further insight on the situation, we will make additional blog posts to better detail how your funds on Gemini will be secured.

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

Information related to Gemini’s policy on an upcoming Chain Split

Gemini now offers three different protocols to connect to our trading system: [REST API](https://docs.gemini.com/rest-api/), [WebSockets API](https://docs.gemini.com/websocket-api/), and [FIX](https://docs.gemini.com/fix-api/). The REST and WebSockets APIs are available over the public Internet whereas FIX connections require a cross-connect in our data center.

Our public market data API, which includes trades and order book information, has been available over both REST and WebSocket APIs. Now, you can also **_access your private order status information_** over WebSockets (see the section on [Order Events](https://docs.gemini.com/websocket-api/#order-events)). This should prove to be much more efficient than the REST protocol for all of our automated traders, since order status updates and other events are pushed to you rather than requiring you to continually poll for updates.

This idea had been in our development queue for some time, but our recent hangout with the WhaleClub bitcoin trading community ([WhaleClub Hangout 33: Gemini](https://youtu.be/XGPFaaMXiOU)) reinforced just how helpful this feature could be to our customers. If you have ideas for new API features, please send a note to [institutional@gemini.com](mailto:institutional@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

New WebSockets API

Beginning Friday, November 11, 2016, Gemini will make some small adjustments to its email policy. These changes are designed to keep our customers safe.

Over the last several months we’ve instituted policies for the gemini.com domain (and its subdomains) which signal to the largest email providers to reject email messages that do not originate from sources we have explicitly authorized. Customers whose email providers verify the sender of an email (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail) may rest assured that emails coming from “@gemini.com” have not been sent by anyone else other than Gemini.

While we can say this with confidence for the gemini.com domain, there is little we can do to curb emails coming from look-alike domains or emails which exploit how they are displayed in your inbox. **_Please always take a second look_** at emails which look suspicious. You can contact [support through this link](https://support.gemini.com/hc/en-us/requests/new) to verify an email’s authenticity, and we also encourage you to forward suspicious email messages to [fraud@gemini.com](mailto:fraud@gemini.com).

In addition, in an effort to provide better customer service and an overall friendlier experience, we’ve decided to end our no-link policy. Going forward, we will typically only include links to public blog posts or other information relating to product announcements, and will never include unsolicited links to unaffiliated domains. Regardless, customers should always be careful when clicking on links in emails received from suspicious sources, or emails that just seem out of the ordinary.

Finally, Gemini will **_never_** ask you for your password or login credentials.

Thank you for helping us keep you safe. The security of customers and their assets is our primary concern.

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

Gemini Has Modified Its Email Policies

It is with great enthusiasm that we present Gemini’s newest offering — Segregated Accounts under the oversight of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). Many customers such as hedge funds, mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds may be required by law to store their digital assets with a regulated custodian like Gemini in separate and dedicated custodial accounts (i.e. unique Bitcoin addresses that are not commingled in a pooled account). As a limited purpose trust company, Gemini is uniquely positioned to legally and securely custody digital assets on behalf of customers with these specific needs. These **Segregated Accounts**, like Gemini **Depository Accounts**, leverage our proprietary offline (i.e., air-gapped) Cold Storage system for both bitcoin and ether.

While security has always been a fundamental concern in the cryptocurrency community, recent large-scale thefts and uncertainty regarding exchanges’ legal obligation to customers have further highlighted the necessity of providing a legal and secure means of storing digital assets. Since we first launched, our paramount concern has always been protecting the integrity of our customers’ funds, and this has motivated our uncompromising commitment to financial security and regulatory oversight. We’re excited to continue to expand upon our mission of offering safe and regulated custodial services for digital assets.

For more details on Segregated Accounts, please visit our [Custody page](https://gemini.com/custody) or email [custody@gemini.com](mailto:custody@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

Gemini Licensed Custodial Services

**\*\*UPDATED: Please see our** [**Marketplace Page**](https://gemini.com/fees/marketplace#introduction) **for the most current information regarding our Daily Bitcoin Auction.\*\***

While bitcoin is a tremendous digital asset that promises reduced friction in the financial world, the irony is that bitcoin trading is _still_ incredibly inefficient because bitcoin exchanges are missing certain mechanisms that are commonplace in traditional financial marketplaces. So how do we fix this? By building the first-ever daily bitcoin **_Auction_** — now live for trading!

Auctions (also called “crosses,” not to be confused with winner-take-all auctions) are events which allow two-sided trading in large or small blocks with efficient price discovery and reduced price slippage. The goal is to prevent buyers and sellers from missing each other during the trading day. Auctions are universally implemented by traditional asset exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, and Bats. In addition, we are confident that our Auction will bring you the benefits of over-the-counter (OTC) trading without the overhead, hassle, and lack of transparency of these archaic trading venues.

#### How Does Auction Benefit Gemini Customers?

Auction is a new mechanism for electronic trading on Gemini that will occur at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time _every_ day (including weekends and holidays). At first we’ll support only the BTC/USD trading pair, but we’ll open it for all our trading pairs in the coming weeks. Auction aims to facilitate high volumes of trading between customers at a fair price by matching the maximum quantity to be bought and sold.

Auction provides the following benefits to our customers:

*   **Greater Price Discovery**: Auction focuses market participants and economic information at a single moment in the day, resulting in better price discovery.
*   **Mark-to-Market Benchmark Price:** Auction provides an official 4:00 p.m. ET end-of-day price for marking assets to market (e.g., for accounting purposes or for calculating returns).
*   **Lower Fees:** Auction trades receive our [liquidity-making fee discounts](https://gemini.com/fees) and are therefore eligible for up to a 15 bps (0.15%) rebate (unlike OTC trades that can cost upwards of 1–2% per trade).
*   **Instant Settlement:** Auction trades settle immediately and funds are ready for immediate transfer (unlike OTC trades that can require phone calls, emails, specialized paperwork, risk during funds transfer, etc.).
*   **No Counterparty Risk:** Auction trades settle immediately from pre-funded accounts, eliminating the risk that your counterparty will back out of a trade (unlike OTC trades which are typically not pre-funded).

#### How Does Auction Work?

All eligible orders will be filled at the _final auction price_ at 4:00 p.m. ET. The _final auction price_ of each Auction is determined by finding the price at which the greatest aggregate buy demand and aggregate sell demand from all participating orders can be filled (i.e., the price at which the largest quantity can trade). The mechanics of this auction are very similar to the closing auction (or closing “cross”) on the major electronic U.S. stock exchanges (e.g., Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, Bats). For a more detailed discussion, please see [Marketplace](https://gemini.com/marketplace/#auction).

#### How Can You Participate in Auction?

Easy! Customers can enter Auction-Only Market and Auction-Only Limit Orders to buy or to sell beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET the prior day until 4:00 p.m ET for that day’s Auction. (E.g., for Wednesday’s Auction, you can place orders between **Tuesday** at **5:00 p.m. ET** and **Wednesday** at **4:00 p.m. ET**).

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*6ix-xfXD6En1q6_N.png)

Beginning at 3:50 p.m. ET each day, _indicative auction prices_ are broadcast via both our market data API and our website frontend. A new _indicative auction price_ is calculated every minute until 3:59 p.m. ET based on the order book at that time. (These indicative prices are calculated by simulating the auction process for the order books if Auction were to occur at that time.)

#### Example Auction:

At exactly 4:00 p.m. ET, the Auction-Only order book contains the following limit orders, listed in the order they were submitted:

**CustomerDirectionQuantity (BTC)Limit Price**

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*YudzKwTk55BiCSf9UgDpdg.png)

To determine the _final auction price_, find the price level that maximizes the _matched volume_ (i.e., the price at which the largest quantity can trade). The _matched volume_ at a particular price level is how much interest can cross between buy orders and sell orders, and is therefore the lesser of the available buy or sell interest at that price level.

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*6ZnS4vgSz20aw4GhTqjv2g.png)

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*nHjE2HKM1_Fh1Pnc.png)

In this example, the matched quantity is greatest at all prices between $600 and $610. Therefore, the _final auction price_ is determined to be $605 (the midrange between these two prices), with a _matched volume_ of 3,250 BTC. All available sellers who can trade at $605 are fully filled: Bob (1,000 BTC), Grace (1,000 BTC), and Sybil (1,250 BTC). Because the buy interest at this price is greater than the sell interest, one of the buyers is partially filled, based on time priority: Frank receives 2,250 BTC rather than 2,500 BTC, but Charlie is fully filled (1,000 BTC).

#### Questions?

If you have any questions regarding Auction mechanics or the benefits that Auction may provide you, please check out [Marketplace](https://gemini.com/marketplace/) for a detailed description or contact [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward,

Team Gemini

*UPDATED* Introducing the First-Ever Daily Bitcoin Auction

Two weeks ago we made an [announcement](https://gemini.com/blog/update-ether-classic-withdrawals/) regarding our ongoing work to allow withdrawal of ETC (Ether Classic or ETHC) for customers who had ether balances at the time of the “Hard Fork,” as well as customers who have deposited ETC into their Gemini accounts since the “Hard Fork.”

We are pleased to announce that as of **Friday, August 12, 2016**, Gemini will allow all customers with ETC balances to withdraw their assets. To check your ETC balance and initiate a withdrawal, please contact customer support [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com). If you choose to initiate an ETC withdrawal, **_you must transfer the entirety_** of your available balance. Your withdrawal request should be processed within five business days.

Although we do not currently have plans to open matching engines for ETC trading, we will continue to update our customers as the ETC situation evolves further.

Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout the implementation of this feature. If you have any questions, please contact [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward!

UPDATE #2: Ether Classic Withdrawals

Continuing from our [previous announcement](https://gemini.com/blog/ether-classic-and-the-ethereum-hard-fork/) about some of the implications of the Ethereum “Hard Fork,” we at Gemini would like to provide an update on our ongoing plans to address developing interest in ETC (Ether Classic or ETHC).

At the moment, Gemini offers trading and withdrawals of ether _only_ on the “Hard Fork” ETH branch and not on the ETC branch. We have not yet decided whether to open matching engines for ETC trading.

We have started work to allow withdrawal of ETC for customers who had ether balances at the time of the “Hard Fork,” _as well as_ customers who have intentionally or unintentionally deposited Ether Classic into their Gemini accounts after the “Hard Fork.”

Modifications of our digital asset storage system are taken with extreme caution to ensure the integrity of our customers’ assets. The thorough and secure implementation of an ETC withdrawal feature will require extensive development hours. We ask for your patience and understanding as we take the next few weeks to analyze and implement this functionality.

We’ll keep you informed with additional blog posts as the situation evolves. If you have any questions, please contact [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward!

UPDATE: Ether Classic Withdrawals

Due to the developing interest in ETC (Ether Classic or ETHC), we at Gemini would like to keep you informed of our ongoing work to best address the implications of the Ethereum “Hard Fork” which occurred on July 20, 2016 at 13:20:40 UTC. At this time, withdrawals of ether from Gemini exist only on the “Hard Fork” ETH branch and not on the ETC branch. We have not yet decided whether to open matching engines for ETC trading.

Our engineers are actively investigating the implications to customers who had ether balances on Gemini at the time of the “Hard Fork,” and to customers who have intentionally or unintentionally deposited Ether Classic into their Gemini accounts after the “Hard Fork.”

Thank you for your patience and support. We’ll be sure to keep you informed with additional blog posts as the situation evolves. If you have any questions, please contact [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward!

UPDATE: Ether Classic and the Ethereum “Hard Fork”

_(UPDATE 7/20/16 12:30 PM EDT: The “Hard Fork” appears to have succeeded; ETH deposits and withdrawals have been re-enabled.)_

Beginning at midnight EDT on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 (Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 04:00 UTC), Gemini will temporarily disable all ether deposits and withdrawals in advance of the forthcoming Ethereum “Hard Fork.” For more details on the technology behind this event, please see the recent [blog post](https://blog.ethereum.org/2016/07/15/to-fork-or-not-to-fork/)from the Ethereum Foundation.

We will resume allowing ether deposits and withdrawals after the “Hard Fork” has been resolved, which is anticipated to be sometime Thursday, July 21 (EDT). Gemini users may still trade ether on our ETH/USD and ETH/BTC matching engines while ether deposits and withdrawals are temporarily disabled.

If you have any questions, please contact Gemini customer support at [support@gemini.com](mailto:support@gemini.com).

Onward and Upward!

Ethereum “Hard Fork”: Modified Exchange Operations

We are thrilled to announce support for ether trading starting on Monday, May 9th at 9:30 AM EDT. We will be offering ETH/BTC and ETH/USD trading pairs on two new order books. In the meantime, you can now store your [ether](https://gemini.com/prices/ethereum "Ether Price Page") on Gemini in advance of trading next week, with all of the same [industry leading security](https://gemini.com/security/) we already offer for [bitcoin storage](https://gemini.com/wallet "Crypto Wallet Page").

When we began building Gemini almost two years ago, we envisioned a platform that would allow customers to trade digital assets in addition to [bitcoin](https://gemini.com/prices/bitcoin "Bitcoin Price Page"). Over the past six months, ether increasingly became a credible candidate for inclusion on Gemini. The Ethereum protocol’s unique features and the wide range of applications being developed by the Ethereum community, along with increased liquidity and market cap, have made ether an obvious addition to the Gemini trading platform.

We have been working closely with the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYSDFS”) to obtain approval to offer ether storage and trading to our customers as a fully-licensed New York State-chartered limited liability trust company. Our approval makes Gemini the **_first licensed ether exchange in the world_**. It also makes the **_NYSDFS the first regulatory agency in the world to supervise ether_**, reaffirming their position as the leading financial regulator in the area of digital assets. Regulatory certainty and oversight are critical for both fostering innovation and protecting consumers — and we’re excited to provide our customers with a safe, secure, and regulated place to buy, sell, and store ether. We at Gemini are proud to be supporting this new and incredible technology, and contributing to the next generation economy.

To learn more, read [the official press release](http://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/press/pr1605051.htm) from the NYSDFS and New York Governor’s office.

Onward and Upward!

Gemini was the first liccensed ethereum exchange to offer ETH/BTC and ETH/USD trading pairs.

Gemini: The World’s First Licensed Ethereum Exchange

Gemini Is Now the World’s First Licensed Ether Exchange!

We recently made depositing bitcoin [a lot faster](https://blog.gemini.com/funding-your-gemini-account-just-got-a-lot-faster/) — and now we are making depositing dollars faster too! You can now use our new **_Instant ACH_** feature to **_deposit funds immediately for trading_**. So here’s how it works:

*   You initiate an [Instant ACH deposit](https://exchange.gemini.com/deposit/usd/ach).
*   Your deposit amount is available for trading **_immediately_**. You can buy and sell BTC at any point, but you won’t be able to withdraw any BTC you buy.
*   4–5 business days later, once your Instant ACH deposit clears, you will be able to withdraw the amount of your deposit and/or any BTC purchased with your deposit.

It’s that easy. No more watching the BTC price for 4–5 days while waiting for your ACH transfer to arrive; now you can trade and sit back while your funds clear.

Onward and Upward,

Cameron

Deposit instantly and start trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies instantly.

Gemini now supports instant ACH deposits

Instant ACH Deposits Are Here!

A few weeks ago we brought you [multi-user accounts](https://blog.gemini.com/introducing-multi-user-accounts-and-performance-upgrades/). This week we are excited to announce another new feature —** _multiple bank accounts_**. That’s right, you can now link multiple bank accounts to your Gemini account for deposits and withdrawals of USD.

This feature (not surprisingly) was commonly requested — you asked, and we delivered. What’s even better is that adding an additional bank account can now be done **_instantly_** using your bank account login credentials. Simply go to your [Bank Settings](https://exchange.gemini.com/settings/bank) page on the Gemini dashboard to get started.

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*G-T8APrioPa2oYI2.png)

**Please note:** any bank account you link must be in your name. If you plan to link a business bank account, please email institutional@gemini.com to set up an institutional account.

Onward and Upward,

Cameron

Introducing Multiple Bank Accounts

**NOTE: Information from this post has been consolidated and moved to the** [Trading Fees and Rebates](https://gemini.com/fees) **page.**

New Fee and Rebate Schedule!

Funding your account with fiat (e.g. US Dollars) and bitcoin just became a lot faster!

#### Funding via USD

You can now instantly link your bank account to your Gemini account using your bank account login credentials. No more waiting multiple days for micro-deposits to hit your bank account. Now you can sign up and immediately initiate funding to buy bitcoin.

![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*a7kNAVf0mqxRUWAX.png)

#### Funding via BTC

We have lowered the required number of bitcoin network confirmations for bitcoin deposits from six (6) to three (3) confirmations. Bitcoins sent to your Gemini deposit address will now be available in your account for trading after three (3) confirmations of the Bitcoin network — which typically occurs in about thirty (30) minutes.

We are continuing to build the foundation for the future of money, where assets can be sent around the globe the way they should be — instantly and at little or no cost. We are at the beginning of the beginning, so stay tuned for much more to come!

Onward and Upward,

Cameron

Funding Your Gemini Account Just Got A Lot Faster!

We are writing to clarify our policies and procedures around market disruptions, and to address the large market buy order that was placed by a customer on the evening of Friday, November 13th, 2015. This single order drove up the price per bitcoin on Gemini to as high as $2,200.00 (i.e., ~$1,800.00 dollars above the then current market price), and after careful consideration, it was subsequently reversed. Upon making our determination, we immediately alerted all counterparties involved and have been working diligently to ensure the most equitable resolution possible. We have also been working on building and implementing a strategy to prevent and help mitigate similar situations in the future. It has been no small undertaking, and we greatly appreciate your patience, apologize for any inconvenience and for the delay in our response communication, and understand how some may disagree with our decision. With that said, in an effort to be as transparent as possible, we will outline why we decided to unwind this trade, what we are doing to prevent this from happening in the future, and what customers can expect in the event something like this happens again.

#### GUIDELINES FOR TRADE REVERSALS

There are a number of situations which can cause markets to do unusual things — these can include, but are not limited to, a fat-finger order, an algorithm run amok, or a software bug. It’s difficult to give hard and fast rules for each of these scenarios, many of which can be grey areas; however, this particular case is fairly clear. The customer who placed this order made a trade that was empirically **_disruptive_** to an orderly market — in this case achieving a price of ~$2,200.00 or ~700% above the then current market price per bitcoin — representing a false and misleading view of the market. We did not base our decision on the _reason_ this order was placed (though we have no evidence to believe it was intentionally malicious), only whether or not it was disruptive. Our decision was also not based on _customer type_, although, since it has been asked, we will share that the customer was not an institution, not a special customer, but rather an regular individual customer just like many others on our platform.

While it is impossible to create guidelines for every potential situation, it is possible to make an affirmative statement with respect to this specific class of erroneous trade. Small orders can be mistakes too, but most will not disrupt an orderly market. What exactly constitutes disruptive is not always entirely clear, but what happened Friday was clearly one of these examples.

#### OUR USER AGREEMENT

Because issues such as this one can arise in any marketplace from time to time, our User Agreement states the following:

> “We retain the right to enter pricing, order, and reconciliation adjustments as necessary and appropriate.”

> _(_See  **_Account Statements_** _section)_

> “We reserve the right to reverse and/or cancel one or more Orders in the event of (i) any disruption or malfunction in the operation of any electronic communications, trading facilities, storage facilities, recording mechanisms or other components of or integral to Gemini or of Digital Assets, or (ii) any other severe business disruption to Gemini, its systems or Digital Assets, where the nullification of transactions may be necessary for the maintenance of a fair and orderly market or the protection of you and the public interest.”

> _(_See  **_System Disruptions Or Malfunctions_** _section)_

Having the ability to adjust orders, handle clearly erroneous trades and the ability to halt or delay trades during a disruption to an orderly market are **_market safeguards that are neither exclusive nor unique to Gemini_**, but rather common practice among many well-established and regulated exchanges such as the [NYSE](http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2014/11/18/whoops-looks-like-a-fat-finger-caused-a-10-flash-crash-in-home-depot/) and [NASDAQ](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/03/us-markets-nasdaq-kraft-idUSBRE89213H20121003#x6WDcRESOzDTbm47.97).

#### IMPLEMENTING PRE-TRADE CONTROLS

We will be implementing the following pre-trade controls in an effort to prevent similarly disruptive situations going forward. These include:

1.  Automatic cancellation of the remaining portion of any order that immediately moves the market price by more than **20%** in either direction; and
2.  The addition of a confirmation dialogue box that warns customers before placing any order that could potentially move the market price by more than **20%** in either direction

#### POST-TRADE ACTIONS

While we believe these new pre-trade controls will greatly help prevent problematic trades in the future, it is impossible to predict all potential corner cases that could be disruptive to an orderly marketplace (the very reason why exchanges employ the safeguards mentioned above). As a result, we are planning to take the following steps:

1.  For this event, we will be removing the record of these reversed trades from our market data API and the historical trade data on our website.
2.  If you were a party to this trade, we’ve already been in touch with you — you will still see a record of your portion of this trade and its reversal in your account history.
3.  Version 2.0 of our API is already in development and we will look to incorporate more specific detailed accounting for any future reversed trades.

We understand and have considered both sides of the bitcoin, so to speak, with respect to this issue and recognize that not everyone will agree with the actions we have taken. Unfortunately, no solution is perfect here. But when taking into account the relevant facts, we felt that reversing this trade was more in line with the spirit of what we intended when we set out to build Gemini — namely, a safe and secure marketplace for all customers to buy and sell bitcoin.

Onward and Upward,

Cameron and Tyler

Our Guidelines For Trade Reversals

We are excited to announce that Gemini has opened its doors to both individual and institutional customers. Trading officially begins on **Thursday, October 8th at 9:30 a.m EDT / 6:30 a.m. PDT.** If you haven’t done so already, you can create your account by going to the [Gemini homepage](https://gemini.com/) and clicking on “Create Your Account”.

Some of you may be wondering what we’ve been up to since we first announced our plans for Gemini on January 23, 2015. That’s a great question — we have been hard at work building the four pillars of our business:

**1) Product, 2) Security, 3) Licensing and 4) Compliance.**

So was it worth the wait? We think so. As a bitcoin exchange we don’t always have the ability to “fail fast” or the freedom to “hack” our way through product development, security or licensing. When you are dealing with money — especially other people’s money — you simply cannot assemble the rocket ship mid-flight.

Meeting the high-water mark of banking compliance is no small task, especially for a startup, but we felt that doing so was crucial — Bitcoin is an island right now, and if we are going to build a bridge to the financial mainland, then Gemini must look and feel as safe, secure, and compliant as any other top tier financial institution in the world. This includes, among other things, creating a robust [anti-money laundering (AML) program](https://gemini.com/legal/bsa-aml-program#bank), strong internal controls and procedures, a comprehensive [security program](https://gemini.com/security) and maintaining significant capital reserves.

In short, we take licensing and compliance _very_ seriously and think that asking for permission, rather than forgiveness is the right approach in this case — and we think our customers will agree. The end result is Gemini Trust Company LLC, a New York state limited liability trust company, which makes us a fiduciary, and allows us to accept both **individual** and **institutional** customers under New York Banking Law (unlike the BitLicense, which does not convey such fiduciary powers).

Initially, Gemini will be operating in [26 US states and in Washington, DC](https://gemini.com/areas-of-operation). We plan to expand our coverage area rapidly, so stay tuned.

Lastly, we speak for everyone on our team when we say that we couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve built over the past year and more excited to begin serving you, one Satoshi at a time.

Onward and Upward,

Cameron and Tyler

And We’re Live!

**NOTE: Information from this post has been consolidated and moved to the** [Areas of Operation](https://gemini.com/areas-of-operation/) **page**

Areas of Operation 

Today, my brother Tyler and I are proud to announce Gemini: a next generation bitcoin exchange. What exactly do we mean by “next generation”? We mean a fully regulated, fully compliant, New York-based bitcoin exchange for both individuals and institutions alike. Why? Because it’s about time.

But before I go further, I’d like to take a moment to explain how we got here. Our interest in Bitcoin began in 2012. It was immediately obvious to us how awesome and powerful this technology was. People laughed, as they always do, when something is awesome, powerful and new, but that only helped to fuel our fire. Over the past two and a half years, we have spent a great deal of time educating ourselves and others about Bitcoin; investing in bitcoin; investing in Bitcoin-related companies; filing an S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to create the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust (an ETF focused on bringing bitcoin investment exposure to main street investors) which will list on NASDAQ; and launching a bitcoin price index called WinkDex that will price our ETF ([online](http://winkdex.com/), [iPhone](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/winkdex-bitcoin-price-index/id921018534?mt=8), [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mbai.winkdex)).

When we began our ETF journey, we soon concluded that a US-regulated ETF wasn’t enough. A growing number of US investors, traders, financial institutions and businesses wanted to get involved with bitcoin directly, but had no options other than to trade overseas or sit on the sidelines. So, we began looking into exactly what it would take to create a US-based bitcoin exchange. During this time, and almost one year ago to the day, we testified at a public hearing at the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) regarding the development of virtual currencies and their promise. The two days of hearings were watched by close to 15 thousand people in 117 different countries, commonwealths and territories. Coming out of these hearings, it was clear to us that NYSDFS Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky and his staff understood the potential of this technology and were committed to building a regulatory framework that would both protect consumers and foster innovation in New York. It was also clear to us that Gemini had just found its home.

Since last February, Tyler and I have been assembling the Gemini team. Our goal was simple: bring together the nation’s top security experts, technologists, and financial engineers to build a world-class exchange from the ground up with a security-first mentality. It’s true that Bitcoin’s promise is a new, frictionless money, but that all becomes academic if we don’t build towards an ecosystem that is free of hacking, fraud and security breaches. Today, our team is 14 strong (including me and Tyler), 11 of which are pure tech engineers. Our team spans both coasts and embodies decades of tier 1 work experience.

We are also thrilled to announce that we have secured a banking relationship with a New York State-chartered bank. This means that your money will never leave the country. It also means that US dollars on Gemini will be eligible for FDIC insurance and held by a US-regulated bank. Your US dollars on Gemini will be as safe and secure as they are in your bank account today.

So, why the name “Gemini”? After white-boarding a list of possible names for several weeks, we settled on Gemini for a host of reasons. Gemini is the Latin word for “twins” and as such, it inherently explores the concept of duality. We were drawn to this both because of the two worlds of money (old and new) that will intersect on the Gemini platform as well as the two-way nature of trade that it will facilitate. But that’s not all. Once we picked our name, a fun fact emerged. We realized that NASA’s Project Gemini was a spaceflight program focused on laying the groundwork for Apollo’s later mission to land man on the Moon. As such, it was coined (no pun intended) man’s “bridge to the moon.” In this spirit, we’ve built Gemini to be “your bridge to the future of money.” Oh, and Tyler and I just happen to be identical twin brothers.

The innovation of Bitcoin and widespread adoption of virtual currencies is not an if, but rather when. This was always going to happen. [Please join us for the ride](https://gemini.com/).

Welcome aboard!

Cameron and Tyler

Cameron Winklevoss