Gemini receives a $100 million personal loan from the Winklevoss twins: Report

The inflow of funds apparently came after unsuccessful attempts by Gemini to raise money from outside investors.

The co-founders of the American cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, reportedly used their own money to fund the company during the recent decline in the bitcoin market. The Winklevoss twins attempted to raise money from outside investors before making a personal $100 million loan to Gemini, according to a Bloomberg report from April 10.

The purported loan occurred as regulators were closely examining Gemini’s operations. Gemini and Genesis Global Capital were both accused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission of selling unregistered securities through the exchange’s Earn programme in January. After allegations that several Gemini users claimed assets in their Earn accounts had been given FDIC protection, the New York Department of Financial Services apparently also started looking into the exchange.

Tyler Winklevoss alleged the SEC issued a fabricated parking ticket after the charges were made public, saying Gemini staff had been in contact with the regulator for more than a year prior to its enforcement action. The allegation was similar to that of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, whose chief legal officer claimed that staff members had meetings with SEC officials “more than 30 times over nine months” yet nonetheless had received a Wells notice.