Gemini Exchange Review 2022 – Is it Legit?

Gemini Trust LLC describes their crypto exchange as a “rules-based marketplace with security at its core.” This, according to the company website, stems from the “institutional-grade crypto storage” and “industry-leading security” measures that the company has put in place.

The exchange is a house of many firsts given that it was one the first crypto exchanges to be fully registered and licensed to operate in the United States. Gemini was also the first crypto exchange to pass the SOC 2 security verification that tests the efficiency and strength of its cybersecurity systems. Moreover, it also was the first crypto exchange to insure their client deposits.

But how reliable and efficient is the Gemini crypto exchange platform? How comprehensive is its trading platform and to whom does it appeal most? We have reviewed the company’s services and here is everything you need to know about Gemini Crypto exchange.

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GEMINI  Exchange’s Overview

Going through the number of markets and coins the Gemini exchange has been involved in, you will notice that it has not been as aggressive as its competitors. It is only engaged in limited markets, and will only incorporate a limited number of both crypto and fiat currencies. 

Looking at the exchange’s operations, we can’t help but feel like that while in the chase of safety and security, Gemini has neglected important aspects of the crypto trade. Unlike its competitors like Kraken that have comprehensively equipped their exchanges with trading and analytical features, Gemini only hosts the most basic tools and indicators. Here, you wouldn’t find an array of trading tools or technical indicators to help analyze markets. The fact that the buy and sell features are hosted on separate pages further makes the Gemini trading platform unattractive to active traders. These nonetheless make the platform appealing to institutional and high volume investors who value security over trade and analytical tools and indicators.

Currencies accepted here:

On the Gemini exchange, one can only trade in five cryptocurrencies and one fiat currency. These include BTC, ETH, LTC, ZEC, and BCH. For the Fiat currencies, the exchange will only support the USD, despite having outgrown the U.S market reaching out to more international crypto hubs. These can be traded in either crypto-to-crypto or crypto-to-fiat pairs in six different order types. This can be either a market, limit or four other types of limit orders.

Gemini Fees and commissions:

Looking at the Gemini fees and commissions, these three things stand out. One, the exchange is highly transparent and with all their charges and you get to know how much a transaction will cost you before entering into a trade position. We also like the fact that trading fees aren’t static but graduated depending on the number of trades you execute in a month. Lastly, they are relatively affordable compared to most of their competitors.

Trading here, you can expect to pay a maker, taker and auction fees of 0.35%, 0.10%, and 0.20% respectively. Clients with monthly transaction volumes of over $1 million enjoy discounted takers and auction fees of 0.25% and 0.15%. And when your trading volume surpasses $10 million per month, you only get to pay the taker fee of 0.10%. There is a tab on your user account screen indicating your trade volumes and expected charges.

Gemini Account types:

Unlike some crypto exchanges – like coinbase – that maintain different accounts for traders and investors, Gemini has only one live trading account. The exchange claims that this trader account has all the tools needed by a pro or novice trader “to harness the future of money.” But we believe that its limited number of tools and indicators make it inferior in the face of its competitors.

If you are relatively new to cryptocurrency trading or the Gemini exchange, the company also provides you with a practice account – the Sandbox site. This comes off as Gemini’s proprietary version of the Demo account. It has all the trading tools and features of the Gemini live trader account. And just like any other demo account, it is a risk-free environment that is specially designed to help you test and understand the Gemini exchange fully before committing your funds to direct trades.

Gemini Trading Platforms:

Gemini exchange has also come up with a proprietary trading platform that is accessible as a web trader and a mobile phone app. And one of the most interesting features – an industry first – about the platform is its support for automated recurring buys. According to the exchange, you can schedule a “recurring purchase” for any crypto coin “across any Gemini order book.” This was designed for the investors looking to build their long-term crypto portfolio.

The Gemini app is highly secure and boasts of a three-layered security system with the Face ID as one of its authentication features. We also find it rather simplistic and easy to use, especially considering the limited number of tools available here.

Deposit and Withdrawal methods and costs:

Deposits into Gemini account are free. And you can make your deposit either in fiat currency via a bank wire transfer or any of the other supported cryptocurrencies. Note, however, that the exchange will not foot the requisite blockchain and bank fees charged at the source. It is also important to note that the exchange imposes limits on how much you deposit into the account per day. If you are an individual investor, your bank transfers in are capped at $500 per day or $15,000 per month. Institutional investors also have their daily bank transfers in capped at $10,000 per day and $300,000 per month.

How much you pay for withdrawals largely depends on your preferred withdrawal methods. Bank transfers and wire transfers are however free. And so are the first ten cryptocurrency withdrawals. The rest are charged a minimal 0.001 BTC per withdrawal.

There also are limits to how much you can transfer to a bank on a daily basis for both individual and institutional account holders. This currently stands at $100,000 for both types of clients while the minimum withdrawal limit is set at $100.

Security:

Gemini takes great pride in the security of their systems and currently ranks as one of the most secure and best Bitcoin exchanges currently available. And this starts at the client registration stage where the exchange won’t accept deposits from an unverified client account. In this case, you need to furnish the exchange company with a photo of your government-issued identity documents as well as a proof of address.

On the company’s part, it has prioritized security by coming up with several industry-first security measures aimed at protecting the client data and digital assets. For the best part, this involves coming up with highly advanced proprietary security measures. Gemini exchange has also resulted to the traditional asset protection measures employed by most banks and financial institutions – insurance. And this gives their clients confidence that should the exchange suffer a breach that compromises their digital assets, they will be compensated accordingly.

Countries Gemini Operates in

Gemini was founded in the United States where it also maintains its headquarters and the largest client base. It has nonetheless, spread to other world financial hubs like Singapore, South Korea, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Customer support:

According to Gemini, their customer support team is available 24/7. But several factors point to potential weaknesses in the company’s customer service team. You, for instance, can only contact the support team by raising a ticket on their different social media handles. They do not have a live chat feature on the website.

The exchange also doesn’t maintain a contact center where you can call the customer support team directly. And with an average response time of between 1 and 2 hours, it makes it highly inconveniencing to clients with urgent issues.

Conclusion

The Gemini platform is, without a doubt one of the most secure and highly regulated crypto trading havens. The security measures that Gemini puts in place ensure that your digital assets are out of reach of cybercriminals and third party intruders. It also presents you with an easy to use trading platform and will also not charge for the deposits and withdrawals. But with the security notwithstanding, there also are areas that need improvement. The exchange, for instance, needs to work on incorporating more coins, trading tools and payment processing methods on the exchange. It is up to you to determine what matters to you most, the safety of your digital assets or the convenience of trades.

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