Talking about cryptocurrencies such as Gemini also means talking about exchanges, essential tools to allow the user to autonomously negotiate the digital asset in question. In the wide offer of solutions on the market, we find Gemini, a solution able to guarantee reliability, solidity, security and intuitiveness. Let’s discover what Gemini is, how it works and what are its strong points.
What is Gemini
Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange, i.e. a virtual place where to freely trade digital currencies and/or other digital assets, founded by the Winkevoss twins in New York in 2015.
Tyler and Cameron Winkevoss first made headlines in 2004 when they publicly accused Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their intellectual property of a project that would later become Facebook. The accusation later proved to have some merit and the twins received 65 million dollars in return, of which 11 million were immediately invested in Bitcoin.
The Winkevoss twins, in fact, had an almost blind faith in cryptocurrencies and were sure that they would revolutionize the world. This belief led them to found a platform on which investors could approach the fascinating world of digital currencies in a practical, fast and above all profitable way: that’s how Gemini was born.
Gemini is currently among the top 40 exchanges in terms of daily volume of exchanges, it is also particularly appreciated by users because of some peculiar features as we will see shortly.
How the platform works
It must be emphasized that Gemini has specialized over time in cryptocurrency trading, while perfectly supporting other trading activities. Remember that trading has nothing to do with a simple buying and selling of currencies, but can be configured as a speculative activity that aims to profit from price changes in the short to medium term.
In addition to that, Gemini can boast a special cryptocurrency custody service, making it a more than excellent alternative to a classic trust service. It also has a wide variety of assets available for trading and buying and selling, including altcoins. It enjoys an official regulation provided by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDS).
Particular mention must be made of the security issue, one of the most delicate in this sector. Gemini, in fact, takes the security of its users into great consideration, that’s why all deposits made in dollars are kept safe in FDIC insured banks, while digital assets benefit from a completely offline Cold Storage system in order to minimize any possible risk factor.
An often professional customer service and support completes the general overview of this platform.
How to register on Gemini
The first step is obviously to go to the official website of the Gemini exchange and click on the Get started button on the top right of the home page. The new screen appeared with the eloquent title Create an account, will allow you to create a personal account by entering in the appropriate spaces your name, surname, email address and password. After accepting the terms of service indicated in the part below, you can proceed by clicking on Next.
At this point you will be asked to enter your phone number, a particularly important detail to safeguard your security and enable two-factor authentication. After entering it by confirming on Next, you will have to wait for the automatic response code that you will receive by SMS and that must be fully reported in the space provided. By entering the code, the phone number will be authenticated and can be used also for sending communications.
In the next page you will have to insert further personal data necessary to Gemini in order to understand the kind of investor you are and above all you will have to authenticate your e-mail address through a procedure similar to the one of the telephone number.
Once this step is done, you can finally associate your bank account and enter in the operative phase. Please note that, at this stage, you will not yet be active as a user, to remedy this situation you will need to submit your identification document together with a proof of residence. After the exchange has completed all the necessary verifications, you will receive a communication certifying the actual enabling of your account.
In order to start trading, however, there is one last step, the initial deposit. To make the deposit it will be necessary to log on the platform by entering the credentials subsequently created, go to the personal menu and locate the item Trader Funds. Clicking it will open a form that will be completed by entering the desired amount and the payment instrument, also available the bank transfer. Once you have made your choices, just finalize the operation by clicking on Deposit.
How to Buy Cryptocurrencies
In order to buy cryptocurrencies on Gemini, the first thing to do is obviously to login to the platform by entering the credentials previously created, then go to the home page and from here locate the Products section and then click on Gemini exchange. Gemini currently supports more than 50 digital currencies, so it won’t be difficult to find the right one for your needs, taking into account that new ones are implemented on a regular basis.
From the contextual menu you can view all available cryptocurrencies. After choosing one of them by simply clicking on the corresponding icon, you will be able to see all the statistics, analysis and its market trend so as to make a targeted investment. To move on to the real operational phase, all you have to do is determine the quantity of currency you want in the Quantity field and confirm the purchase by clicking on Buy.
How to Sell and Transfer Cryptocurrencies
In order to sell cryptocurrencies on Gemini you need to follow the same steps already explained for the purchase, remembering, however, to select the Sell button.
As far as cryptocurrency transfer is concerned, instead, you’ll just have to select first your personal wallet and then click on Send. Obviously, you will be expressly requested to enter the destination address, such as a third party private wallet and that of another exchange. At this point you will need to enter the amount of currency you intend to transfer and then click on Send to confirm everything. To further speed up the already quick procedure, it is also possible to scan a QR code.
Withdrawals, Costs and Commissions
Withdrawals by transfer have limitations of 10,000 dollars per day and per month for individuals, while for companies the amount is increased up to 100,000 dollars. Withdrawals are free of charge if less than 10 are made in a month.
As for the commissions, we have a percentage of 0.25% on each operation performed on the platform. This percentage can be further reduced if a particularly high trading volume is reached within a month.
Final Considerations
Certainly Gemini does not have the same media impact of much better known competitors, but over the years it has proven to be a solution to rely on if you want a platform immediately ready to use and without too many frills or technicalities.
Its main strengths are the cryptocurrency storage which can be based on a proprietary Cold Storage system, a particularly high security, a really good technical support and an intuitiveness which makes Gemini the perfect exchange for beginners.
Among the weak points, instead, we point out the absence of the Italian language, an offer of cryptocurrencies inferior to the competitors in terms of numbers, a blockchain not as performing as the ones of more known realities and the impossibility to deposit by credit or debit card. In general, however, it can be said that it is definitely an exchange to keep an eye on in the future.