Gemini to launch crypto derivatives in Europe with new license

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has received regulatory approval to expand crypto derivatives trading across Europe.

Gemini secured a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) license from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), allowing the exchange to offer crypto derivatives in the European Union, it announced on May 9.

“Once we commence business activities, we will be able to offer regulated derivatives throughout the EU and EEA [European Economic Area] under MiFID II,” said Gemini’s head of Europe, Mark Jennings.

According to the exec, the MiFID II license is a big milestone in Gemini’s European expansion, putting it one step closer to offering derivatives to both retail and institutional users.

Advanced traders will get perpetual futures

Gemini’s upcoming derivatives offering in the EU and EEA will include perpetual futures and other derivatives, which will be available to advanced users of Gemini, Jennings noted.

“Over the coming months, we will be working toward meeting the required conditions to launch these products across Europe,” he added.

According to MFSA records, Gemini’s Maltese entity, Gemini Intergalactic EU Artemis, was issued a license on May 8.

MiCA license yet to be issued

Gemini’s latest license builds on the growing regulatory progress of the US-based exchange in Europe.

In January, Gemini officially announced that it would choose Malta as its hub for compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

The move came shortly after Gemini received its sixth European virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration from the MFSA in December 2024. 

However, the exchange has not yet obtained full MiCA licensing.

Related: Coinbase’s Deribit buy shows growing derivatives market

Derivatives are a hot trend in crypto

Gemini’s upcoming crypto derivatives launch in Europe is yet another milestone in a growing trend toward derivatives in the global crypto industry.

Coinbase, the biggest crypto exchange in the US by trading volume, on May 8 announced the $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit, one of the world’s largest crypto derivatives platforms.

The deal came just a few days after rival exchange Kraken confirmed plans to purchase the derivatives trading platform NinjaTrader to offer futures trading on May 1. The firm previously said it had agreed to acquire NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion.

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