Gemini remains an operating centralised exchange, but it is no longer an ordinary account option for residents of the UK, EEA or Australia. Its Singapore service is the relevant confirmed option within this site's wider audience. That geographic distinction should come before any discussion of fees or trading tools. A recognisable brand and a local licence do not make the same service available everywhere.

At a glance

  • Display name: Gemini.
  • Founded: 2014.
  • Model: Centralised exchange with identity verification.
  • Confirmed audience market: Singapore.
  • Singapore entity: Gemini Digital Payments Singapore, Pte. Ltd.
  • Permission: MAS Major Payment Institution licence, including Digital Payment Token Service.
  • Confirmed Singapore services: Spot trading, custody and OTC.
  • Editorial rating: 2.5 out of 5.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's register identifies the local entity and its permitted activities. Gemini says it serves retail and institutional customers there. Its closure notice separately covers UK, EEA and Australian accounts. These are regional facts, not evidence that the whole exchange has shut down. This review concerns the confirmed Singapore service and the restrictions most relevant to European readers.

Sign up and KYC process

Gemini requires identity verification. Its onboarding guidance describes personal information, identity documents and, where needed, additional evidence. The documents and checks depend on the customer's circumstances and jurisdiction. A completed form is not a promise that an account will be approved immediately.

Check residency eligibility before submitting documents or sending funds. Old country pages and historical reviews may describe services that are no longer offered. Customers in the closed markets should use official support for unresolved account matters, rather than interpreting Singapore onboarding as a route around regional restrictions.

Eligible applicants should also confirm the account's legal entity, funding instructions and withdrawal arrangements. Matching the registered name and required bank details matters more than completing the process quickly. Verification and transfer checks can create delays, so do not assume that money sent to an account will immediately be available for every operation.

Fees

Gemini publishes separate pricing for ActiveTrader and its simpler Gemini Mode. Its ActiveTrader spot schedule starts at 0.600% for maker orders and 1.200% for taker orders at the lowest tier. The tier can depend on trailing trading volume or asset balance. These are published interface rates, not a universal price for every Gemini transaction.

A maker order rests on the order book before execution; a taker order matches available liquidity immediately. One partly executed order can incur different treatment for its separate portions. The schedule also contains distinct stablecoin-pair terms, so the standard spot rate should not be copied across every market.

Gemini Mode uses transaction-specific pricing and a spread shown in the quote process. Transfer charges are listed separately and can depend on currency, network and method. Compare the complete amount received after trading and withdrawal costs, not only the headline percentage. Check the actual preview and applicable schedule before confirming a transaction, particularly when switching interfaces.

Supported assets and features

Gemini's Singapore announcement confirms spot trading, custody and OTC services. The presence of another product in a global menu does not establish its availability to a Singapore retail customer. In particular, this review does not assume access to derivatives, margin trading or a credit card.

ActiveTrader offers an order-book interface, while the simpler mode suits a different execution workflow. The choice affects both the controls visible to the user and the pricing that applies. An asset available for storage is not necessarily tradable through every route, and support for one network does not establish support for another.

The useful product check is concrete: can this account trade the required asset, fund the relevant currency and withdraw over the intended network? An impressive global catalogue is less informative if one of those steps is unavailable. No fixed asset count is used here because supported markets and regional permissions can change.

Security

Gemini describes account protections including two-factor authentication and withdrawal-address controls. Its Trust Center also describes external assurance and custody arrangements. These are useful controls, but certification is not insurance against every loss and does not guarantee continuous access to funds.

The record includes material qualifications. Gemini disclosed a third-party vendor incident involving customer email addresses and partial phone numbers. It said customer funds and its own systems were not affected. That does not make the exposed contact information harmless, because it can assist phishing attempts.

The discontinued Earn lending programme involved Genesis and should be distinguished from an ordinary spot balance. New York's financial regulator imposed a US$37 million penalty for compliance failures and secured customer-recovery commitments. Gemini later reported completion of the asset distributions owed to Earn users. Recovery does not erase the period of restricted access or the oversight concerns.

The New York attorney general separately announced a US$50 million settlement concerning Earn. A CFTC consent order imposed a US$5 million penalty in another matter; the agency subsequently joined a request for relief from prospective provisions while saying the paid penalty would not be refunded. A request for relief should not be described as an order already overturned. These proceedings concern specific conduct and entities, not proof that every regional service has the same legal status.

Pros

  • A clearly identified Singapore entity and permission can be checked in the MAS register.
  • Published ActiveTrader pricing helps users distinguish maker, taker and tier conditions.
  • Separate simple and order-book interfaces give eligible customers different execution workflows.
  • Documented account controls support a more informed security review.

These strengths are most useful when paired with an account-specific check. They do not restore access in closed markets or replace an assessment of custody and withdrawal conditions.

Cons

  • UK, EEA and Australian closures sharply limit usefulness across the target markets.
  • Different interfaces and transfer methods complicate total-cost comparisons.
  • Earn-related compliance findings and vendor incidents qualify the security record.
  • Global product advertising cannot be assumed to describe Singapore retail availability.

The regional limitation is decisive for many readers. A service that cannot accept your residency is not made suitable by a lower fee or a stronger interface elsewhere.

Verdict

Gemini merits consideration only where the relevant account is actually available. For eligible Singapore users, the identified local permission and published trading framework are useful starting points. For UK and EEA residents, the closure is the main conclusion, not a footnote beneath the feature list.

The editorial rating of 2.5 out of 5 reflects scores of 3 for security, regulatory clarity, fee transparency and product range, and 1 for usability across this audience. The mean is 2.6, rounded to the nearest half point. This is an editorial assessment, not a customer score or forecast of performance. Crypto trading can lose the entire amount committed.