Derivatives as Gemini's Revenue Engine

Derivatives are the clearest path for Gemini to turn trading volume into real exchange economics. Gemini’s spot business is increasingly dominated by institutions that trade huge size at only 2 to 3 basis points, which pushed its blended take rate down to 0.18% in H1 2025. Perpetuals and options usually monetize better because traders post margin, trade with leverage, rebalance more often, and pay funding, liquidation, and spread related fees on top of the basic execution fee.

• Gemini’s core problem is visible in the numbers. H1 2025 revenue fell 8% to $68.6M even as trading volume rose 50% to $24.8B, because 87% of volume came from institutional flow priced far below retail. A higher yield product mix is needed if volume growth is going to translate into profit.
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• Gemini has already built the offshore rails for that shift. Gemini Foundation launched as a non US derivatives venue in 2023, supports perpetual contracts with up to 100x leverage, and Gemini said its MiFID II license in Malta would let it offer regulated derivatives across the EU and EEA once launch conditions are met.
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• Kraken shows the playbook. Its business is built around professional traders and institutions, and it has used deep exchange liquidity to expand into products layered on top of trading. That is the model Gemini is moving toward, except with more emphasis on regulated custody and dollar settlement for institutions operating outside the US.
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The next step is for Gemini to make derivatives the center of its non US institutional stack, with custody, collateral, stablecoin settlement, and leveraged trading sold together. If that bundle gains traction in Europe, Singapore, Brazil, and the UAE, Gemini can move from being a low take rate spot venue to a higher margin crypto prime broker.