Winklevoss’ crypto exchange Gemini gets nod to launch in France amid clash with U.S. regulators

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has been awarded crypto registration to launch its services in France, the company told CNBC exclusively.

The firm, which was founded and is owned by twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, said it was approved as a virtual asset services provider by French markets watchdog Autorite des marches financiers (AMF).

Gemini said that it would roll out its products to retail and institutional clients in France in the coming weeks, as it completes “final preparations” to open its whole platform up to French users.

“This latest regulatory approval in France represents a significant moment in our European expansion,” Gillian Lynch, head of EU at Gemini, said in emailed comments.

Once live, Gemini customers in France will be able to trade over 70 cryptocurrencies on the firm’s website and mobile app and will get access to its more advanced ActiveTrader platform.

Institutional clients will get access to Gemini eOTC, Gemini’s electronic over-the-counter trading solution.

The French approval comes as major U.S. crypto companies are turning to the European Union to expand their operations, driven in large part by a crypto industry crackdown from U.S. regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Gemini and crypto lender Genesis were last year charged by the SEC with allegedly selling unregistered securities in connection with Gemini Earn, a high-yield savings product.

Gemini denies its interest-bearing products qualified as securities and is seeking to get the lawsuit thrown out.

During an EU visit last year, the Gemini founders realized that “in Europe, there is both a strong sense of regulatory support for the industry but also much needed regulatory clarity on the horizon with MiCA,” Gemini’s Lynch told CNBC via email, referencing the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.

MiCA is regulation that allows crypto companies to hold a license in one country and use it as a “passport” into any nation in the EU. It was approved by EU lawmakers last year and is hailed as one of the most significant crypto-specific laws globally to date.

Gemini chose Ireland as its European headquarters in May 2023, and has been forging ahead with European expansion. It is not alone — Coinbase, the top U.S. crypto exchange, last year selected Ireland as its primary regulatory hub in the EU, and also registered with Ireland’s central bank for a single MiCA license.

The U.S. has taken recent steps to embrace some elements of cryptocurrency trade. Last week, the U.S. SEC approved the first-ever spot bitcoin ETFs, in a development hailed as bringing crypto closer to the realms of traditional finance. ETFs have performed strongly so far.

The approval only came after multiple years of pushback from the SEC, which raised concerns with the unregulated markets cryptocurrencies trade over price manipulation in the space.

The U.S. is yet to see crypto regulation approved at a federal level, although there are several bills working there way the House of Representatives.