Ripple Enters Agreement With Gemini Ahead Of IPO — Here’s What We Know

Crypto firm has entered into a credit agreement with crypto exchange Gemini ahead of the latter’s initial public offering (IPO). The crypto exchange revealed the details of this agreement in its IPO filing, with the amount expected to be used to finance some costs that may arise during the public offering.  

In its IPO filing with the SEC, Gemini revealed that it entered into a credit agreement with Ripple in July. Under the agreement, the crypto exchange can make lending requests of no less than $5 million each, and up to an aggregate commitment amount of $75 million. Furthermore, the initial commitment of $75 million can be increased or decreased from time to time, subject to the attainment of certain metrics that both parties have agreed on. 

However, the aggregate commitment of the credit agreement between Gemini and Ripple cannot exceed $150 million, meaning that is the maximum credit that the crypto exchange can request from the crypto firm. Once Gemini exceeds the initial commitment of $75 million, then it will need to make lending requests in the form of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, which the crypto firm has to consent to. 

Gemini revealed that all its lending requests under the Ripple credit agreement must be secured by collateral. It shall also bear an interest rate per annum of 6.50% or 8.50% and must be repaid in USD. Although some details were redacted, the crypto exchange indicated that it has also received some amount from Ripple under the agreement. 

With this, Ripple has become a major backer for Gemini’s IPO, which is expected to take place soon. Notably, the crypto exchange’s financials in the IPO show that it posted net losses over the quarters that span back to March 2023. In just the first half of this year alone, Gemini has recorded a net loss of $282 million. 

With Ripple’s backing, Gemini plans to offer shares of its Class A common stock, although it has yet to reveal how many shares will be available in the IPO. The crypto exchange has yet to provide details on how much these IPO shares are likely to sell for each. However, it revealed that it has applied to list these Class A common stock on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol “GEMI.”

Furthermore, the lead underwriters for the Gemini IPO are Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, with support from other firms such as Morgan Stanley and Cantor. Gemini’s IPO plans follow the successful execution of crypto exchange Bullish’s IPO, in which the exchange raised $1.15 billion after selling its shares for $37 each. Gemini will be looking to record similar success, considering the massive crypto demand among traditional finance (TradFi) investors.