A new development has come to the fore regarding the activities of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, founded by the Winklevoss brothers, in Europe and the UK. Potential buyers are showing interest in certain parts of the company’s closed operations in the United Kingdom and the European Union. The acquisition possibility does not directly cover the entire company, but rather regional businesses that are closed. The talks are being conducted by parties seeking to gain access to existing regulatory licenses in these regions.
Recent structural changes of the company
With the statement made in February, Gemini reduced its global employee number by 25 percent and stopped its services in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia. Thus, the company continued to operate only in the US and Singapore markets. Based in the USA, Gemini goes beyond exchange services in the crypto industry and provides a wide range of services including institutional custody, staking, yield products and payment infrastructure. It also offers a rewards credit card where users can earn digital assets from their spending. The platform also aims to differentiate itself with its brokerage and clearing services.
On the European side, Gemini operated with an EU-wide license called Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), as well as national registrations of many countries. In the UK, the company is registered as an electronic money institution with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In this way, it was able to offer regulated payment services and was also included in the FCA’s list of approved crypto asset service providers.
Impact of regulatory processes on purchasing plans
In Europe and the UK, companies that want to start operating in the crypto sector can often take many years to obtain a license. For this reason, groups considering purchasing Gemini’s closed operations highlight the advantages provided by existing licenses. However, under the MiCA regime, a crypto firm’s license cannot be transferred directly to a new ownership. Since the acquisition is considered a “change of control”, permits are not automatically transferred and regulatory authorities re-examine the acquisition in detail.
In this process, potential buyers are required to notify the competent regulatory authorities of the relevant country and, in most cases, to obtain an official document showing that there is no approval or opposition before the acquisition. Thus, new owners are subject to similar requirements for vetting as an applicant at the beginning of the process.
A similar approach is also valid in the United Kingdom. For crypto companies registered by the FCA, the license cannot be transferred directly. The purchase is considered a “change of control” and the approval mechanism comes into play.
Gemini’s shares have been volatile since its IPO in September 2025. The stock, whose opening price was 28 dollars on the day of the IPO, rose above 37 dollars on the first trading day and finished the day at approximately 32 dollars. While strong investor interest was observed with gains exceeding 30 percent on the first day, the stock fell sharply in the following period. Currently trading around $4.36, the share price is more than 80 percent below the IPO level. This shows that concerns about the company are increasing in the market.
The company recently announced that it has parted ways with three senior executives, including chief operating officer Marshall Beard, chief financial officer Dan Chen and chief legal officer Tyler Meade. In the relevant official notification, it was stated that Beard also resigned from the board of directors and that this separation was not due to a disagreement about company policies.
These high-level departures come just after the company announced its decision to close its stock exchange operations in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia.
