Gemini Trust Company, the cryptocurrency exchange and custodian owned by the Winklevoss twins, has launched a qualified custodian, Gemini Custody, that supports 18 cryptocurrencies. This will allow users of the Gemini exchange to instantly trade their crypto in custody without waiting for it to be transferred out of cold storage.
As a New York trust company and a Qualified Custodian chartered by the New York State Department of Financial Services, Gemini is compliant with the law as it offers offline storage of cryptocurrencies using hardware security modules (HSMs), multi-signature technology, and geographically distributed access-controlled facilities.
The 18 cryptocurrencies supported by Gemini Custody include five top coins – Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Litecoin, Zcash – and the following ERC-20 tokens: 0x (ZRX), Augur (REP), Basic Attention (BAT), Bread (BRD), Dai (DAI), Decentraland (MANA), Enjin (ENJ), Flexacoin (FXC), Gemini dollar (GUSD), Kyber Network (KNC), Loom Network (LOOM), Maker (MKR), and OmiseGo (OMG). The custodian will add more cryptos to the list soon.
Tyler Winklevoss, Chief Executive Officer of Gemini, said: “The maturation of crypto as an asset class depends heavily on the safety and soundness of the custodians that hold individual and
institutional funds. From day one, Gemini recognized the need for a world-class custody solution that is secure, compliant, and easy to use for individuals and institutions around the world. We are thrilled to continue our security-first tradition by providing our customers with Gemini Custody, an expanded offering of our state-of-the-art custody solution.”
Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, Managing Director of Operations at Gemini, commented: “Institutional investors have demonstrated a clear and growing demand for crypto, but they’ve struggled to find a solution that fully meets their complex regulatory and security requirements, Gemini Custody is
the only crypto-native solution in the market today that meets these complex requirements without sacrificing security or liquidity.”
Customers can secure their accounts with hardware security keys and restrict crypto withdrawals to crypto addresses they whitelist. Gemini’s new interface allows customers to check balances, download account statements, and initiate withdrawals, as well as grant auditors view-only access to confirm balances, transactions, and activity. Sub-accounts allow users to create and manage multiple accounts with distinct sets of users, account balances, and unique, independently verifiable crypto addresses all under a single master account.
The firm has most recently partnered with Avelacom to increase connectivity options for Gemini, having been added to the list of crypto vendors in Equinix’s NY5 data center.
In 2018, Gemini partnered with Nasdaq to get its hands on its SMARTS Market Surveillance service which automatically detects any possible price manipulation or other illicit activities. This ensures a fair and “rules-based marketplace” for Gemini customers.
