Quick Overview
- Gemini’s shares surged 14% after raising $425 million in its IPO, with an initial price of $28.
- The stock opened at $37.01, peaking at $45.89 before closing at $32, up 3%.
- The company, founded by the Winklevoss brothers, reported significant net losses of $159 million in 2024 and $283 million in the first half of this year.
- Despite early setbacks in launching a bitcoin ETF, the Winklevoss brothers have been advocates for cryptocurrency regulation.
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Gemini’s shares jumped 14% on Friday as the exchange operator raised $425 million in an IPO. The stock’s IPO price of $28 was about 32% below its opening price of $37.01 on the Nasdaq. The share price peaked at $45.89 at one point. At $32, the stock closed up 14 points, or 3%.
The New York-based company set its initial public offering (IPO) price late Thursday above the anticipated range of $24 to $26, which was set this week, and an initial range of $17 to $19. Before trading started, the company was valued at about $3.03 billion. By the end of July, Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss brothers in 2014 and primarily functioning as a cryptocurrency exchange, had over $21 billion in assets on its platform.
Despite these gains, Gemini reported a net loss of $159 million in 2024 and a loss of $283 million in the first half of this year, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Winklevoss brothers, prominent figures in the cryptocurrency space and among the first bitcoin billionaires, maintain that bitcoin is a superior store of value compared to gold. They first applied to initiate the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) back in 2013, which was denied by the SEC due to concerns regarding fraud and market manipulation. This denial paved the way for ongoing discussions about the establishment of bitcoin ETFs.
Even amid volatility and skepticism from traditional financial institutions, the Winklevoss twins have consistently pushed for wise regulation to lay the groundwork for a financial revolution led by cryptocurrency.
Olumide Adesina
Financial Market Writer
Olumide Adesina is a French-born Nigerian financial writer. He tracks the financial markets with over 15 years of working experience in investment trading.