Gemini Space Station shares surged 32% at the opening on Friday during the crypto exchange’s highly anticipated Nasdaq debut, marking another success for a revitalized IPO market. Gemini’s initial offering was priced late Thursday at $28 a share, surpassing the anticipated range. Shares trading under the ticker symbol GEMI opened at $37.01 and experienced a rally, reaching a peak of $45.89 on Friday afternoon. The asset closed at $32, marking a 14% increase, following a brief halt due to volatility concerns.
Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange, was established in 2014 by the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler. The 44-year-old twins have made notable contributions to President Trump and various Republican initiatives. A recent donation of $21 million in bitcoin was made to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC, a newly established super political-action committee backing pro-Trump and pro-crypto candidates. Trump’s public embrace of crypto has ignited an industry boom, propelling bitcoin to unprecedented heights and triggering a surge of companies pursuing public listings. Since its initial public offering in June, shares of stablecoin company Circle Internet Group have experienced a significant surge. Other IPO candidates, have filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to proceed in a similar manner. Figure Technology Solutions, successfully secured $787.5 million this week, achieving a valuation of $5.3 billion. Figure, a blockchain firm, saw its shares surge 24% during their debut on Thursday.
Gemini is set to designate as much as 30% of its IPO for individual investors via brokerages such as Robinhood, SoFi, Futu Securities International, Moomoo Financial, and Webull. Dan Chen, chief financial officer of Gemini, stated that the decision is a direct response to robust investor feedback. “We are a retail-facing business and we feel it’s very much within our ethos to provide access to retail customers,” Chen stated. “We aim to structure the offering in a way that ensures success for both retail and institutional investors.” Gemini has become the third cryptocurrency exchange to make its public debut in the U.S., following in the footsteps of Coinbase Global and Bullish, which successfully raised approximately $1.1 billion during its public launch in August. The Winklevoss twins are set to hold a staggering 94.5% of the voting power. The exchange, recognized as one of the largest in the U.S., reported that it holds more than $21 billion in assets on its platform, alongside an impressive lifetime trading volume exceeding $285 billion. Earlier this week, it secured a $50 million private investment from Nasdaq and formed a partnership with the stock exchange, enabling Nasdaq’s clients to safeguard and stake their crypto assets.
Similar to numerous crypto exchanges, Gemini derives the majority of its overall revenue from transaction fees collected on volume-based trades involving both retail and institutional users. In spite of these figures, the company reported losses of $320 million in 2023, followed by $159 million in 2024, and $282 million for the first half of 2025. Gemini has successfully sold approximately 15.2 million shares, generating a substantial $425 million in the process. Following Friday’s surge, the company’s valuation has reached approximately $3.8 billion, according to investor assessments. The valuation reached an impressive $7.1 billion during the height of the bull market in 2021.