The crypto exchange co-founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss made the two major strategic manoeuvres to increase focus on the US market and continue to leverage AI to boost productivity.
Crypto platform Gemini confirmed yesterday (February 5) it will be laying off 25% of its staff based in the US, UK and Singapore, in addition to exiting key markets.
In a statement from Gemini Co-Founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, they revealed Gemini has been scaling back its workforce since 2022, which at the time employed 1,100 staff. This was reduced by 50% by the end of 2025, and now a further 25% will be cut (up to 200 jobs).
The Winklevoss twins explained this was a measure taken by a smaller organisation “leveraging the right tools” in regards to its adoption of AI across its infrastructure.
“A smaller organisation, leveraging the right tools, isn’t just more efficient, it’s actually faster,” said the statement.
“We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our parting colleagues and are confident they will have an impact elsewhere. Their contributions will always remain part of the Gemini story.”
Payment Expert has reached out to Gemini for comment.
Since 2022, Gemini has integrated several AI services from companies such as Databricks Lakehouse, AWS S3 and TradingView.
The company has also developed in-house AI systems to analyse prediction markets and an internal AI system to boost productivity across its engineering and non-engineering job roles.
The Winklevoss twins said previously its software engineers “could differ by an order of magnitude or 10x”, with great engineers having 10x more impact than good engineers.
However, they admit “AI has completely changed the game” and has allowed for software engineering to become 100x more impactful.
“Doing more with less has never been more true or possible and we believe this trend line is only just beginning,” said the Winklevoss twins. “How we use AI this week is different from how we used it a month ago, which was different from how we used it 6 months before that.”
Gemini to leave the UK, Europe and Australia
The crypto platform also announced it will be leaving the UK, European Union (EU) and Australia by closing all customer accounts.
Gemini revealed in its notice to customers that this will take effect on April 6, and new accounts will be prevented from being created in these three markets. From March 5, all customer accounts will be placed on withdrawal-only mode. This will mean no additional funds can be added and existing customer assets can not be sold.
The company has called on existing customers to begin the process of ‘unstaking’ their assets before March 5 to avoid delays and disruptions. Gemini also stated all crypto and fiat assets should be withdrawn before April 6.
For customers seeking to transfer their funds to another platform, Gemini has partnered with eToro to allow UK, EU and Australia customers to send funds to its platform.
Susie Violet Ward, CEO and Co-founder of Bitcoin Policy UK, told Payment Expert departures such as Gemini’s from the UK market is an indication of where the capital lies and that regulatory uncertainty can cause companies to become optimistic about future-proofing its scalabilities.
“Gemini’s exit seems to be about friction,” said Ward. “The company is leaving the UK, Europe and Australia while focusing on the US and Singapore, which tells you capital is moving to jurisdictions where firms can operate with clarity and scale. Prolonged regulatory uncertainty in the UK makes it harder to hire, invest and build compliant operations, and that has real consequences.”
“The FCA has a statutory growth and competitiveness objective, and delivering clear, proportionate rules on time is essential if the UK wants to stop further departures and remain relevant.’
While Gemini did not explicitly state why it exited the UK market, the country still currently has no regulatory framework in place, although the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) intends to launch its regulated crypto market in October 2027.
Current crypto and digital asset regulations overseen by the FCA largely centre around consumer protection. The crypto marketing rules mandates firms feature risk warnings and ensure their advertisements are clear, fair and not misleading.
All operating UK crypto firms are also required to register with the FCA. Many firms such as Ripple and Kraken operate under an Electronic Money Institute (EMI) licence to operate as a regulated e-money service provider.
Gemini operates in the UK as Gemini Payments UK to issue electronic money and provide payment services, according to a recent FCA notice.
Refocus on the US
According to the Winklevoss statement, Gemini will “double down” its focus on the US market, which they labelled as home to the “world’s greatest capital markets”.
The US has become an attractive crypto market for companies like Gemini since President Donald Trump began his second term.
The introduction of pro-crypto initiatives, such as the establishment of a Federal Bitcoin Reserve, as well as the progression of the landmark GENIUS and CLARITY Acts, have been set in place to support Trump’s ambition of making the US the crypto capital of the world.
However, Gemini’s regulatory journey in the US has been far from smooth. Trump‘s first nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Brian Quintenz, accused the Winklevoss twins of meddling with his confirmation.
The debacle stemmed from a CFTC lawsuit against Gemini over a Bitcoin futures contract that was overseen by Quintenz during his time as CFTC Commissioner from 2017-2021. Quintenz posted a text message exchange between himself and Tyler Winklevoss on X in September 2025, alleging the Gemini Co-Founders had deliberately paused his confirmation.
Quintenz’s nomination was ultimately dropped by the White House following additional criticism from Tyler Winklevoss of his prior relationship to prediction market company Kalshi where he served as a Board Member.
Despite being dropped, Quintenz said to CoinDesk at the time the “confirmation process was the honor of my life” and thanked the President for his nomination and to the Senate Agriculture Committee for his consideration.
Michael S. Selig was elected as the CFTC Commissioner, sworn into the role on December 22, 2025.
