Winklevoss' Gemini submits confidential IPO filing amid renewed investor confidence

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a June 6 press release.

Gemini filed a confidential draft registration statement on SEC Form S-1, which allows a company to file for IPO before publicly disclosing sensitive information. The filing comes amid renewed investor confidence as uncertainty due to trade wars has waned.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range per share have not been determined. No date was mentioned for when the IPO might occur.

Gemini was founded in 2014 by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. In November 2021, it announced a fundraise of $400 million at a valuation of $7.1 billion. The exchange reportedly had a headcount of around 1,000 employees in November 2022, although it would later lay off some employees during the crypto winter.

In January 2023, Gemini ran afoul of the SEC for the exchange’s “Earn” program, which the agency alleged involved the selling of unregistered securities.

The Winklevoss twins were significant backers of US President Donald Trump’s election campaign, donating $1 million each. The donations were later refunded for exceeding the upper limit for contributions from individuals.

IPO season heats up after Circle, CoreWeave performances

The race for initial public offerings has started to heat up after Circle’s successful IPO on June 5 and Coreweave’s skyrocketing share price following the company’s going public in March.

At close of the tradingon June 5, Circle’s share price had risen 167%. The oversubscribed round caught the attention of many, including BlackRock, which had been eyeing a 10% stake, and Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment, considering buying $150 million worth of shares of the stablecoin issuer.

Circle’s stock price momentum continued on June 6, with its share price rising an additional 32.2% at this writing.

CoreWeave, which completed its initial public offering on March 28, has seen a share price increase of 158% in the past month, according to Google Finance.

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