Winklevoss Bitcoin Exchange Gemini Introduces Dynamic Trading Fees

Gemini, the New York-based bitcoin exchange founded by investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has revamped its fee schedule.

AccessTimeIconFeb 24, 2016 at 4:46 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 4:36 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Gemini, the New York-based bitcoin exchange founded by investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has revamped its fee schedule, to encourage an "active, stable and efficient marketplace".

The service was launched just over four months ago and, according to a new blog post by president Cameron Winklevoss, has now collected sufficient data to determine the best fee strategy going forwards.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • Winklevoss writes:

    "We have decided to adjust our existing flat fee schedule to a real-time, dynamic maker-taker fee schedule."

    Adopting the maker-taker fee system is aimed to encourage 'makers', who add liquidity to the exchange, which offers a BTC/USD market aimed at institutional investors.

    Cameron Winklevoss explained that because liquidity-making orders do not fill immediately and they bear more market risk, the company "believes in offering greater incentives to makers".

    To kick off the promotion, the new schedule will be available to all Gemini users for 30 days, during which traders will receive a 0.15% rebate on all liquidity-making trades and be charged 0.15% on all liquidity-taking trades.

    The new fee schedule is open to all customers from 15:30 BST on 1st March to 15:30 BST on 31st March.

    Fee concerns

    The announcement follows comments from bitcoin traders that Gemini's original pricing model, charging both buyers and sellers on each trade, could prove an issue that will drive away retail traders – a group that could be essential for building liquidity.

    Top bitcoin exchanges around the world offer greater liquidity than Gemini can yet offer, meaning traders on those exchanges are able to cash in and out of the market more quickly, a much more active market participants argued at the time, for profit-making.

    One aspect that came under repeated criticism was the exchange's plan to charge 25 basis points (0.25%) to the buyer and seller on each side of any trade.

    With today's announcement, Gemini seems to have taken these criticisms on board and is now offering a sliding scale of fees, and even rebates for liquidity makers (see table below).

    Gemini fees for makers
    Gemini fees for makers

    Liquidity takers will pay fees of 25 bps but can be discounted to 15 bps under certain conditions (see the blog post for the full details).

    Taker
    Taker

    The post notes that fees and rebates will be based on gross trading volume and the liquidity-making buy/sell ratio over the previous 30-day window.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.