Central Bank authorises crypto exchange Gemini

Company founded by Winklevoss twins can now market to Irish consumers

Tyler, left, and Cameron Winklevoss, who founded Gemini. Photograph: Alfonso Duran/The New York Times
Tyler, left, and Cameron Winklevoss, who founded Gemini. Photograph: Alfonso Duran/The New York Times

Gemini, the cryptoasset exchange platform founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has become the first digital asset provider to receive authorisation from the Irish Central Bank.

The company has been notified that its virtual asset services provider registration has been granted by the regulator. It means the Central Bank is satisfied that Gemini can meets its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing obligations under Irish and European law and the company can now provide it services to Irish consumers and businesses.

It comes in the same week that Gemini cut its global headcount following a steep decline in cryptoasset prices since the start of the year.

Quoting sources close to the company, tech website TechCrunch reported on Monday that some 68 jobs have been lost in recent days following a round of cuts earlier this year, which saw close to 10 per cent of its staff lose their jobs.

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Gemini, which has also secured a European emoney licence, could not confirm how many people it employs in Ireland.

A spokeswoman for the company said: “Gemini has a robust team in Ireland across multiple functions, including compliance, operations and commercial teams.

“We have ambitious, long-term growth plans in the market. We are excited to build our local presence here and provide Irish consumers with secure and accessible ways to engage with cryptocurrencies in euro.”

Ian Curran

Ian Curran

Ian Curran is a Business reporter with The Irish Times