Gemini expands EU offering with staking and perpetuals on Ethereum and Solana

Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has added Ethereum and Solana staking and derivatives products to its European Union services, according to a press release published Friday.

Through its public statement, Gemini announced the launch also includes Ether and Solana perpetual futures contracts for users in the European Economic Area (EEA), and there is no minimum amount required to participate. Rewards will vary for ETH, but SOL staking offers returns of up to 6%.

The 2014-founded custody bank turned crypto venture’s license was approved in August after it created a new entity answerable to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in Malta. It also received authorization under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) in May. 

Europe is important to Gemini, CEO

Mark Jennings, Gemini’s chief executive officer for Europe, said the firm is “democratizing access to alternative, risk-managed financial instruments.” 

“Europe continues to be a strategic focus for Gemini,” the CEO reckoned.

Alongside staking, Gemini will roll out perpetual futures contracts under its European MiFID II license. The derivatives are denominated in Circle’s stablecoin USDC, can be leveraged up to 100 times, and have no expiry date. 

Jennings said the decision to enter the derivatives space came about due to a global demand for crypto futures products. 

Although Bitcoin reached multiple all-time highs throughout Q2 and Q3 2025, spot market activity fell by 32% in the first half of the year, reaching $3.6 trillion in the second quarter, according to analytics platform TokenInsight. Derivatives trading volumes stood at $20.2 trillion during the same period. 

A June study by CoinLaw reported that staking participation within the EU increased 39% in 2025, compared with 22% outside the bloc.

“Gemini Staking is available to retail and institutional investors, but we believe that it will be popular amongst sophisticated, professional retail investors who are looking to put their crypto funds to use and earn passive income from a single, integrated, centralized exchange,” the CEO surmised.

The crypto-native finance institution also launched a new staking service in the United Kingdom in late August. Even though a platform was present, Gemini required a minimum of 32 Ether through its Staking Pro service, which many considered too high a threshold. The new version removes that requirement to make staking available to a broader customer base. 

Gemini ready for US stock market debut

While expanding its European services, Gemini is also preparing to go public in America. The company, formally known as Gemini Space Station LLC., filed for an initial public offering seeking to raise as much as $316.7 million on Tuesday. 

According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Gemini could sell 16.7 million shares at $17 to $19 each. At the top of that range, Gemini would be valued at roughly $2.2 billion, based on outstanding shares listed in the filing. 

The company also reported a net loss of $282.5 million on $68.6 million in revenue for the first half of the year ending June 30. That compared with a net loss of $41.4 million on $74.3 million in revenue during the same period a year earlier.

Gemini generates most of its income from trading fees, with transaction revenue accounting for 65.5% of total revenue in the first six months of 2025. The company also offers a dollar-backed stablecoin, crypto custody services, staking, and a credit card that provides rewards in cryptocurrency.