Crypto Exchange Gemini Looks to Ireland for European Headquarters

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Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has announced that it has chosen the Republic of Ireland as its new European home.

The announcement follows a meeting between the crypto’s co-founders, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, and representatives of the Industrial Development Agency (IDA), the body responsible for foreign investment in Ireland.

We are grateful for the support of the Irish Government and IDA as we embark on the next exciting stages of our journey. We look forward to being part of and contributing to Dublin’s vibrant tech community,” the Winklevoss brothers said in a statement shared with Decrypt. “Crypto is as transformative as the internet, and we are committed to unlocking the opportunities it represents.

Taking to Twitter, Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss said yesterday’s discussions in Dublin centered around the deep promise of crypto and the importance of common sense regulation to realize that promise.

Great meeting this morning with @LeoVaradkar, Prime Minister of Ireland. We talked about the profound promise of crypto and the importance of common sense regulation to realize that promise. We believe that MiCA is that common sense regulation. We also announced that @Gemini has pic.twitter.com/Iv3NmPTmju

Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) May 25, 2023

The CEO also said that Gemini believes that Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), the recently adopted regulatory framework to govern cryptocurrencies in the European Union (EU), is such common sense regulation.

We also announced that Gemini has made Ireland its European headquarters. Forward!, added Tyler Winklevoss.

Gemini was the first crypto company to be registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) by the Central Bank of Ireland in July 2022.

In an interview with The Irish Times, Gemini Chairman Cameron Winklevoss said Ireland will be the entry point for stock exchanges to the rest of Europe once MiCA regulations are fully implemented across the board. EU by 2025.

Gemini will stay in the United States

Amid a wave of broader crackdowns on cryptocurrency companies in the United States, which also targeted rivals Kraken and Coinbase, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January accused Gemini of selling securities non-registered shares linked to the Earn program now terminated, with action from regulators prompting the exchange’s co-founders to start looking at other jurisdictions.

Earlier this week, the Winklevoss twins traveled to London, where they met officials from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England, hinting at the UK as a possible new base for the crypto exchange.

There are so many headwinds in the United States right now that it’s hard to do anything there. And so, to continue to grow our business and invest in hiring, we need to look elsewhere, Cameron Winklevoss told The Telegraph earlier this week, adding that the UK is a great market to consider this.

Still, Gemini has no plans to leave the United States altogether.

Were not leaving the United States, were going to continue to fight the good fight there. But we also understand that you can vote with your feet, and it is our right and we will do so in a hostile environment, added Cameron Winklevoss.

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