Gemini Review: Pros & Cons, Features, & Fees

Gemini is a cryptocurrency company that offers cryptocurrency trading, interest on cryptocurrency deposits, and an upcoming cryptocurrency rewards credit card.

Gemini is a solid choice if you’re looking to get started with cryptocurrency and want to keep everything under one roof.

While its cryptocurrency exchange fees are on the higher side, the opportunity to earn up to around 8% interest on cryptocurrencies is a major draw. In many ways, Gemini looks more like a traditional bank or brokerage than a cryptocurrency platform.

If you have significant cryptocurrency holdings or want to earn higher interest rates on your money, keep reading this in-depth Gemini review.

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Pros And Cons

What Is Gemini?

Gemini is a prominent cryptocurrency company that offers cryptocurrency trading, interest, and credit card products. Gemini was founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Yes, the Winklevoss Twins of Facebook fame (or infamy). Years after their dealings with Mark Zuckerberg, they founded Gemini, which takes a fintech approach to cryptocurrency.

The central hub on Gemini’s website and mobile app is the trading platform, enabling you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. For long-term storage, Gemini offers a product called Earn with interest rates from 1.35% to 8.05% as of this writing, depending on the currency you deposit. It's also announced a rewards credit card with cryptocurrency rewards for regular purchases.

When you look past the Winkelvii jokes and their portrayal in the movie The Social Network, Gemini is a well-designed cryptocurrency platform with a good user experience and features that meet the needs of the typical cryptocurrency trader and investor.

How Gemini Works

If you’ve ever used a stock brokerage account online, you should feel right at home when logging into Gemini. The Gemini platform supports more than 50 cryptocurrencies to buy, sell, and trade.

Once your account is funded or you transfer in funds from another cryptocurrency exchange or wallet, you can move funds into Earn, where you’ll earn interest on your account balance. Not all cryptocurrencies on Gemini work with Earn, though most popular currencies are supported.

If you want to accelerate your cryptocurrency earnings, the Gemini Credit Card will feature up to 3% back. Rewards are paid in cryptocurrency rather than cash. The Gemini Credit Card has no annual fee. 

Gemini Products And Features

Now that we've provided an overview, let's dig into the details of how each of Gemini's main products work.

Gemini Exchange

The Gemini Exchange enables you to buy, sell, and exchange between your home currency (currently USD, EUR, GBP, and SGD)) and cryptocurrencies. It supports popular currencies Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as altcoins, including Dogecoin, Dai, Maker, Compound, and Sushi.

The ActiveTrader platform is Gemin's advanced trading platform. It's easy to use and includes basic active charting features, an order book, and other essential information for experienced traders.

The basic screen to enter Bitcoin trades on Gemini's lower-cost ActiveTrader platform

Beginners can stick with the basic exchange for as long as they want. But ActiveTrader is free to use and available to all users. So there’s no reason not to upgrade if you feel comfortable with active trading platforms.

Gemini Credit Card

The Gemini Credit Card hasn't officially launched yet, but it will be a no-annual-fee rewards card. The card features 3% cash back on dining, 2% back on groceries, and 1% everywhere else.

Rewards are redeemable in the form of cryptocurrency, paid almost instantly when you swipe and make a purchase.

You'll be able to choose between more than 40 different cryptocurrencies for rewards, including Bitcoin. The card also comes in three color choices.

It’s a MasterCard with no foreign transaction fees and no exchange fees when redeeming for rewards. The waitlist for the card is open now.

Gemini Pricing And Fees

Fees vary depending on the platform you use for trading. You can save money with the ActiveTrader platform even if you’re not a very active trader, so consider that when setting up your account.

Most deposits are free other than those with a debit card (3.49% fee). Cryptocurrency withdrawals may incur a fee at the time of transfer.

Web And Mobile Pricing

Standard fees for web trades and mobile trades are:

ActiveTrader Pricing

On the ActiveTrader platform, you may get lower fees. For trades under $500,000, there’s a fee of 0.25% to 0.35% depending on the type of trade:

• Taker fee: 0.35%
• Maker fee: 0.25%
• Auction fee: 0.25%

This can save you a lot if you’re a frequent or large-volume trader compared to the regular mobile and web platforms.

You can access even lower fees with ActiveTrade if you trade more than $500,000 per month. And if you're 30-day trading volume reaches at least $15 million, you'll pay 0.00% on maker and auction trades. See the full fee schedule here.

Safety And Security

Gemini takes decisive steps to secure customer accounts and assets. Most currency is held offline with cold storage and robust security practices. Gemini is a New York trust company subject to bank exams and cyber security regulations, a step above many other cryptocurrency products.

Logins from a new device and cryptocurrency withdrawals require two-factor authentication approval. However, you should still maintain best practices for online security to keep digital bad guys out of your account. That includes using a unique, difficult-to-guess password or passphrase to secure your account.

Gemini Alternatives

Gemini isn’t the only player in town. Consider these alternatives as well:

• Coinbase: Coinbase is the most direct competitor of Gemini. Its Coinbase and Coinbase Pro platforms are quite similar in pricing and design to Gemini and ActiveTrader. As a leader in the cryptocurrency marketplace, it’s worth considering. Read our Coinbase review >>>
• Binance: Binance is an international cryptocurrency exchange that operates in the United States as Binance.US. It supports more than 50 cryptocurrencies with competitive fees.
• Kraken: Kraken is another popular cryptocurrency exchange with support for more than 50 currencies. It’s noteworthy for offering a cryptocurrency futures platform in addition to spot trading.
• Robinhood: No-trade-fee stock brokerage Robinhood offers a cryptocurrency trading platform as well, also with no trading fees. The big drawback of using Robinhood is that you can’t withdraw cryptocurrency to outside wallets.

Is Gemini Right For You?

If you’re brand new to cryptocurrency, an experienced trader, or want to invest your crypto and HODL (crypto slang for "holding on for dear life") for the long-term, Gemini is worth checking out.

While pricing is high on the main platform, you can trade for a much lower cost using ActiveTrader, available to any Gemini user. Further, Gemini Earn makes it an excellent choice to earn interest on your crypto holdings for the long term.

Like all cryptocurrency products, there are risks involved. But Gemini is a top choice for anyone looking to manage their cryptocurrency with a professional, investment-bank-style experience.

Gemini Features