Gemini, the New York crypto exchange rather than the AI model, scores 2.8 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, competitive on security and custody and on US dollar rails, and behind on fees, asset coverage and derivatives; it suits US residents who put a New York trust charter and audited disclosure above trading cost, and it is the wrong pick for active traders at any volume below $20 million a month and for anyone in the United Kingdom, the EEA or Australia, where it closed every account on 6 April 2026.
Key Takeaways
Gemini scores 2.8 out of 5 overall, the lowest in this series so far, with 4.0 on security and custody and on deposits and withdrawals and 1.5 on fees and costs.
Gemini's ActiveTrader schedule dated 1 September 2026 sets the entry tier at 0.600% maker and 1.200% taker, so $50,000 of monthly taker volume costs $7,200 a year against $300 at MEXC's 0.05% standard rate.
A Gemini account needs $20 million of 30-day volume to reach the taker rate MEXC applies from the first trade, and $50 million to reach its maker rate.
Gemini announced on 5 February 2026 that it would close all customer accounts in the United Kingdom, the EEA and Australia, and those accounts closed permanently on 6 April 2026.
Gemini Trust Company holds a New York limited-purpose trust charter and its parent files audited financials as a Nasdaq-listed company, a disclosure standard MEXC does not match anywhere.
CoinGecko tracked 73 coins on Gemini against 1,627 on MEXC on 4 September 2026; US readers have a licensed option in Gemini and no account at MEXC, and readers elsewhere can compare MEXC's rates below.
This review covers the Gemini crypto exchange, founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and trading under Gemini Space Station, which is unrelated to the AI model of the same name, and 2026 is the year it stopped being a global platform: it closed every customer account in the United Kingdom, the EEA and Australia on 6 April and concentrated on its home market and on prediction markets.
Search for a Gemini review and most pages still treat it as an option on the same shelf as offshore exchanges.
It stopped being that in April.
The second thing most pages get wrong is the fee.
Four different entry rates circulate on the web for Gemini's ActiveTrader, and only one of them is on Gemini's own schedule: 0.600% maker and 1.200% taker, in the version dated 1 September 2026.
The rest of this review scores the platform dimension by dimension and dates every number.
This review scores Gemini from 0 to 5 on six equally weighted dimensions: fees and costs, asset coverage, derivatives, security and custody, deposits and withdrawals, and customer support.
Every figure comes from Gemini's own fee schedule, help centre, digital asset disclosures, announcements or terms, from a regulator, from CoinGecko exchange data, or from an established news organisation, and each carries a retrieval date.
Regional availability and regulatory standing are disclosed but never scored, because a platform is either usable where you live or it is not.
MEXC operates a competing exchange, and the full scoring rules, source hierarchy and conflict-of-interest policy are published in our exchange review methodology. The support score is based on published channels only; our timed-ticket test for this platform is scheduled for the next review cycle.
Gemini serves the United States and the markets on its availability list and closed every account in the United Kingdom, the EEA and Australia on 6 April 2026, while MEXC does not onboard residents of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the EEA, Singapore or Hong Kong, so a US reader has a licensed option in Gemini and no account at MEXC, a UK or EEA reader now has neither, and every MEXC figure below is information for readers elsewhere.
Gemini
Its parent files audited financial statements with the SEC, which are public on EDGAR. New account creation stopped first, Australian dollar withdrawals to a bank account stopped after 28 February, Australian crypto accounts went withdrawal-only from 1 March, UK and EEA accounts followed on 5 March, open perpetual positions had to be closed before that date or were closed at market, and accounts in all three regions closed permanently on 6 April 2026 along with access to transaction history.
Gemini also disclosed that UK customer funds had been safeguarded under the e-money and payments regime rather than protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and that EEA funds sat under an equivalent payments regime rather than a deposit guarantee scheme.
MEXC
MEXC does not serve residents of the United States or the United Kingdom, and readers there should use a platform licensed by their local regulator, which for UK readers means a firm on the FCA register. Australia is not named as a prohibited jurisdiction in MEXC's user agreement, MEXC does not appear on the AUSTRAC register, and Australian readers whose Gemini accounts closed should check the AUSTRAC public register and confirm how money would reach their bank before depositing anywhere.
Gemini earns 2.8 out of 5 overall, with 4.0 on security and custody and on deposits and withdrawals, 3.0 on customer support, 2.5 on derivatives, 2.0 on asset coverage and 1.5 on fees and costs, a profile built for US holders who buy supervision and disclosure at a price rather than for traders.
Dimension | Score (out of 5) | What we measured | Verified against |
Fees and costs | 1.5 | ActiveTrader entry tier of 0.600% maker and 1.200% taker, thirteen tiers set by the better of 30-day volume or asset balance, 0.050% taker reached at the $20 million tier and 0.000% maker at $50 million, stablecoin pairs at 0.00% on both sides | ActiveTrader fee schedule dated 1 September 2026 |
Asset coverage | 2 | 73 coins and 80 pairs tracked on CoinGecko, a digital asset disclosures page that lists assets not all marked as tradable, no published listing count | CoinGecko exchange page and digital asset disclosures page of 21 May 2026 |
Derivatives | 2.5 | Perpetuals at 0.02% maker and 0.07% taker charged in GUSD, cleared through a US-regulated structure, not offered in the three regions exited in April 2026 | Derivatives fee schedule |
Security and custody | 4 | New York limited-purpose trust charter, audited financials through a Nasdaq-listed parent, no custody-level breach found in the public record we reviewed, no monthly proof-of-reserves report with a named auditor confirmed on an open page | NYDFS register, SEC filings, CoinGecko |
Deposits and withdrawals | 4 | US dollar rails including ACH, wire, card and PayPal subject to eligibility, with fiat rails closed in the United Kingdom, the EEA and Australia since April 2026 | Help centre and wind-down notices |
Customer support | 3 | Help centre and ticket-based support; timed ticket test not yet run | Platform support pages |
Overall | 2.8 | Average of the six dimensions | Methodology page |
Fees and costs: 1.5 out of 5.
Gemini's ActiveTrader fee schedule, in the version dated 1 September 2026, sets the entry rate at 0.600% maker and 1.200% taker, falls across thirteen tiers to 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker at the top, sets your tier by the better of your 30-day volume or your total asset balance, and prices several stablecoin pairs at 0.00% on both sides.
The entry taker rate is the highest verified order-book rate in this series, 24 times MEXC's 0.05%.
The ladder itself is one of the more transparent in the industry once you are past the entry tier, and the stablecoin pricing is better than MEXC's on the pairs it covers, which is why the score is 1.5 rather than 1.0.
Reading the two ladders against each other produces the sharpest number in this review: Gemini's taker rate reaches 0.050% at the $20 million volume tier and its maker rate reaches 0.000% at $50 million, and a MEXC account gets both on day one at any size.
Our methodology prices the same monthly volume on every platform, so the table below runs two retail volumes as spot taker orders for a full year and states the volume needed to close the gap.
Monthly spot taker volume | Gemini at the entry tier, 1.200% | MEXC at 0.05% | MEXC with MX deduction at 0.04% |
$5,000 | $720 a year | $30 a year | $24 a year |
$50,000 | $7,200 a year | $300 a year | $240 a year |
Volume needed on Gemini to match MEXC's day-one rates | $20 million a month for the 0.050% taker tier; $50 million for the 0.000% maker tier | Applies from the first trade | Optional, no lock-up |
Annual cost at each platform's published entry or standard tier, verified as of 4 September 2026; spreads, funding and network fees are excluded, and MEXC's figures apply to readers outside its restricted markets.
Run the same volume as resting limit orders and the gap widens, because Gemini's entry maker rate is 0.600% and MEXC's published maker rate is zero.
Simple-interface purchases on Gemini carry their own convenience pricing, and the ActiveTrader schedule is the order-book figure this review scores.
Asset coverage: 2.0 out of 5.
CoinGecko tracked 73 coins across 80 trading pairs on Gemini on 4 September 2026, the smallest catalogue in this series, and Gemini's own digital asset disclosures page dated 21 May 2026 lists assets that are not all marked as tradable, so its published list and its tradable subset are two different numbers.
We do not score platforms on self-reported coin totals, and the tracked CoinGecko number is the one we cite.
Breadth is not automatically a virtue, and a long tail of thin markets carries execution risk that a curated list does not.
It matters in one specific situation: a token moves, you want exposure, and the question is whether a market exists where you can already trade, and on a 73-coin venue the answer is usually no.
Gemini is not among the eight platforms in our listing disclosure index, so its delisting notice periods and withdrawal windows have not been measured by us, and that gap is stated rather than filled with an estimate. Gemini's product menu now lists prediction contracts, stock trading, a credit card, staking and custody alongside the exchange, which is the bundle it is building for US users in place of catalogue breadth.
Derivatives: 2.5 out of 5.
Gemini offers perpetual futures at an entry tier of 0.02% maker and 0.07% taker charged in GUSD, cleared through a US-regulated venue structure, and it did not offer them in the three regions it exited in April 2026, so the product exists with a published fee and a distinctive structure, and it reaches a narrow set of readers.
The venue structure is the strength, because a derivatives product cleared inside a supervised US framework is something most offshore platforms cannot offer.
The score sits at 2.5 because the fee is competitive rather than lowest, because leverage tiers and position bands were not readable on an open page during this review, and because the product's footprint shrank with the April exits.
A leverage number without its position band is marketing rather than a specification, and we do not quote one for Gemini.
For comparison, MEXC's BTCUSDT perpetual trades at 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker for readers outside its restricted markets, with API-routed futures priced separately at 0.060% maker and 0.080% taker.
Security and custody: 4.0 out of 5.
Gemini Trust Company operates under a New York limited-purpose trust charter, its parent publishes audited financial statements as a Nasdaq-listed company, we found no custody-level breach in the public record we reviewed, and we did not confirm a monthly proof-of-reserves report with a named auditor on an open page, which places it in the competitive band on the strength of its supervisory standing.
The trust charter is a licence issued under a demanding supervisory framework, and the audited filings are a level of disclosure most private exchanges do not offer.
Our rule for this dimension is consistent across the series: a supervised custody structure with audited disclosure and no incident found scores 4.0, and the half point above it would need an independently attested reserve report with a named auditor confirmed on an open page.
The April 2026 wind-down also belongs here as a custody event handled in the open: a two-month runway, published dates, explicit instructions on closing positions and unstaking, and a plain statement that departing customers could go anywhere they chose.
Deposits and withdrawals: 4.0 out of 5.
Gemini runs US dollar rails including ACH, wire, card and PayPal subject to eligibility, which is a strong on-ramp for anyone whose money starts in a US bank account, and since April 2026 it runs no fiat rail at all for readers in the United Kingdom, the EEA or Australia, which is the limitation that keeps the score at 4.0 rather than 5.0.
For a US reader the rails are the reason to stay, because a US dollar bank rail with ACH and wire beats a stablecoin transfer for anyone whose money starts and ends in a bank.
Verification tiers and limits are shown inside the account, and identity verification is required before funding, as on every licensed venue in this series.
Customer support: 3.0 out of 5.
Gemini publishes a help centre and ticket-based support, we found no general phone line or live chat advertised on the pages we reviewed, and we have capped the score below 4.0 until our own timed ticket test runs, because a published channel is a promise and a timed reply is a measurement.
Our rule is one non-urgent ticket per platform per review cycle, timed from submission to a reply that answers the question, and Gemini's test is scheduled for the next cycle.
Third-party review sites carry a mixed record on response times, and our methodology does not count aggregate star ratings, so those reports are noted here rather than scored.
Benefits
A New York limited-purpose trust charter, verifiable on the NYDFS register, and audited financials through a Nasdaq-listed parent.
A thirteen-tier fee ladder with a documented rule, and stablecoin pairs at 0.00% on both sides.
US dollar rails including ACH, wire, card and PayPal, and a US product bundle of prediction contracts, stock trading, a credit card, staking and custody.
A wind-down with a two-month runway, published dates and explicit next steps for the customers it exited.
Limitations
An entry tier of 0.600% maker and 1.200% taker, with $20 million and $50 million of monthly volume needed to match MEXC's day-one rates.
A tracked catalogue of 73 coins, the smallest in this series.
No accounts at all in the United Kingdom, the EEA or Australia since 6 April 2026.
No monthly proof-of-reserves report with a named auditor confirmed on an open page.
Gemini is the right pick for US residents who put a trust charter and audited disclosure above trading cost and who buy and hold a short list of majors, and it is the wrong pick for active traders below $20 million a month, for altcoin hunters, and for anyone in the United Kingdom, the EEA or Australia, where it no longer operates.
Gemini is the right pick if:
You live in the United States and want a New York trust company holding your assets.
You hold a few major assets at low turnover, where the fee gap matters less than the supervisory standing.
You want prediction contracts, stocks and crypto under one US-regulated brand.
Look elsewhere if:
You trade actively and a 1.200% taker fee at the entry tier is a number you notice.
You want tokens that a 73-coin catalogue will not reach.
You live in the United Kingdom, the EEA or Australia, where your Gemini account closed in April 2026.
Readers in the second group who live outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the EEA, Singapore and Hong Kong can compare MEXC's published rates in the section below, and our comparison of Gemini alternatives covers seven platforms on fees, coins and regional access.
MEXC operates a competing exchange, and this section is where our own position is stated rather than implied.
Gemini beats MEXC on supervisory standing, on audited disclosure, on US dollar rails, and on stablecoin pricing, and for a US resident those four points settle the question before fees enter it, because MEXC does not onboard US residents at all.
Where MEXC is the answer, for readers outside its restricted markets, is the fee on day one and the number of markets reachable from one account.
A spot taker moving $50,000 a month pays $7,200 a year at Gemini's 1.200% entry tier and $300 at MEXC's 0.05% standard taker rate, or $240 with the MX deduction, and a spot maker at the same volume pays $3,600 a year at Gemini's 0.600% and $0 at MEXC's published maker rate. CoinGecko tracked 1,627 coins on MEXC against 73 on Gemini on 4 September 2026, a difference in kind rather than in degree.
Two boundaries keep the fee claim honest.
The zero applies to spot maker orders and to web and app futures orders, not to API-routed futures, which MEXC prices at 0.06% maker and 0.08% taker.
And the saving is available only to readers outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the EEA, Singapore and Hong Kong, which excludes Gemini's entire remaining customer base.
MEXC holds no tier-one licence in any jurisdiction, its fiat access runs through third-party routes and P2P rather than a US dollar bank rail, and MEXC's monthly proof of reserves, audited by Hacken, is the kind of evidence a listed trust company replaces with audited filings. Our review desk's verdict is that Gemini and MEXC now serve almost non-overlapping sets of readers, and the honest answer for a UK, EEA or Australian reader is a third platform licensed where they live.
Is the Gemini crypto exchange the same as Google's Gemini?
No, they are unrelated companies.
The Gemini crypto exchange was founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and trades under Gemini Space Station.
Is Gemini safe to use in 2026?
Gemini Trust Company operates under a New York limited-purpose trust charter and its parent publishes audited financials, and we found no custody-level breach in the public record we reviewed.
It scores 4.0 out of 5 on security and custody.
Is Gemini legit and regulated?
Yes, its New York trust charter can be verified on the NYDFS register of licensed virtual currency businesses, and its parent files with the SEC.
Regulatory standing is disclosed in this review and not scored.
What are Gemini's trading fees?
ActiveTrader starts at 0.600% maker and 1.200% taker in the schedule dated 1 September 2026, falling across thirteen tiers to 0.000% and 0.020%.
Several stablecoin pairs are priced at 0.00% on both sides.
Why did Gemini close UK, EEA and Australian accounts?
Gemini announced the closures on 5 February 2026 as part of a refocus on its US business and prediction markets.
All three regions closed permanently on 6 April 2026.
Can I use Gemini in the US, the UK or the EU?
Gemini serves the United States and the markets on its availability list, and it no longer serves the United Kingdom or the EEA.
MEXC does not onboard residents of any of those three markets either.
How does Gemini compare with MEXC?
Gemini leads on supervisory standing, disclosure and US dollar rails, while MEXC publishes 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot from the first trade and tracks 1,627 coins on CoinGecko against 73.
Trading cryptocurrencies involves substantial risk, and derivatives and leveraged products can produce losses greater than the amount deposited.
Nothing on this page is financial, investment, legal or tax advice.
MEXC operates a competing exchange; no platform can buy a score or a ranking position on MEXC Learn.
MEXC is not available in every jurisdiction and is not authorised under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation; readers in the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong should use a platform authorised by their local regulator.
Always confirm current terms on a platform's own official pages before opening an account or placing a trade.