Winklevoss Twins' Startup Gemini Will Pay Burned Customers $1B(thedailybeast.com) |
Winklevoss Twins' Startup Gemini Will Pay Burned Customers $1B(thedailybeast.com) |
For institutional traders, they even provide a standard FIX API over cross-connect in the NY5 data center in New Jersey. This is something that institutions understand how to connect to and work with.
(In contrast, most crypto exchanges have/had highly bespoke systems of questionable quality)
https://docs.gemini.com/fix-marketdata/
So the Gemini Earn thing has always confused me. If your entire shtick is legitimacy and being subject to competent regulation, then why would you release a product like that?
I guess I’ll have to attribute it to the reality-distortion field of the crypto hype. They must have actually believed that either 1) the product was sound or 2) they would avoid the fallout when it exploded.
We call it greed, but it’s a consistent feature of trusted institutions being tempted to sell out that brand for short-term gains.
My hypothesis is the trusted market is efficient, and so tends towards consolidation and low margins. The untrusted market is more cottage-like, with small players and large margins. If you’re an institution, it’s tempting to try that high-margin field, leveraging your trusted brand for scale.
And they will be questioned.
The in kind bit is interesting. What are the odds that these assets have dropped in value over the period they've been in limbo?
We’re in a relatively shameless era, with daring and conviction confused with foolish recklessness, and crypto exemplifies that.
If the Winkelvoss twins came back with an offering I’m sure it’d have buyers. This isn’t because they’re dumb, but because that’s where we are in the business cycle. (And they’d probably make money until the punch bowl is yanked.)