From Silicon Valley to London: Winklevoss Twins Plot Crypto Pivot

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, billionaire twins known for alleging that Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for the creation of Facebook, are planning to move their cryptocurrency business from the United States to another location.

Citing 'hostile' conditions in the United States, they are considering transferring the operations of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini to the City of London, one of the most important financial capitals of the world.

Gemini Considers Relocation to the UK

As The Telegraph reported this week, the twins met with representatives of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the local central bank to discuss the potential of launching their operations in the UK.

Gemini has no intention of leaving the United States entirely. Based on the statements from the Winklevoss twins, it is clear that they intend to continue fighting for improved regulatory conditions in their home country. However, for the sake of their business, they are considering relocating the core of their operations to the United Kingdom, which, in their view, has a decidedly better and clearer approach to digital asset regulation.

"There are so many headwinds right now in the US it's hard to get anything done there," Cameron Winklevoss, one of the Gemini Founders, said. "And so in order to keep building our business and invest in hiring, we have to look elsewhere."

The United States Fight against Crypto

The Winklevoss twins aren't the only crypto business owners in the country lamenting deteriorating regulatory conditions. After the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, last year, US regulators began scrutinizing companies' operations related to digital assets more closely.

In late March, Beaxy Exchange ceased its operations after receiving a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earlier, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance for running an "illegal derivatives exchange." The platform disagrees with the allegations from the regulator and describes them as an "incomplete recitation of facts."

Almost four months ago, Kraken, another cryptocurrency exchange, suspended some of its services in the US after paying a $30 million settlement in relation to accusations from the SEC involving offering "staking-as-a-service" to its US clients.

Gemini Cuts Workforce and Enters New Countries

Regulatory issues in the US are certainly not helping Gemini, which, struggling with the aftermath of the cryptocurrency winter, has cut its workforce three times over several months, most recently in January 2023.

In April, Gemini entered the Canadian market, filing for pre-registration with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), a state regulator in the country. Once approved, Gemini will become a restricted dealer with the OSC.

A month ago, the Winklevoss brothers announced their intention to launch a non-US crypto derivatives platform called Gemini Foundation in response to regulatory pressure in the United States. The first products that the Gemini Foundation offers will be based on Gemini dollars (GUSD), the exchange's proprietary stablecoin, and will be used for settling Bitcoin (BTC) perpetual contracts.