Gemini to Exit Europe, UK and Australia as Exchange Cuts 25% of Staff

Gemini said Thursday it will shut operations in the United Kingdom, European Union and Australia while eliminating 200 jobs, or 25% of its global workforce, as the cryptocurrency exchange narrows its geographic focus to the United States.

The New York-based company, founded by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, said the restructuring reflects the impact of artificial intelligence on productivity and a strategic shift toward prediction markets, which it described as potentially larger than current capital markets.

"America has the world's greatest capital markets and America has always been where it's at for Gemini," the founders said in a statement. "So it's time for Gemini to focus and double down on America."

Customers in the UK, EU and Australia will only be able to withdraw funds starting March 5, according to an email sent to users. Gemini said it is working with trading platform eToro as part of the offboarding process and requested customers cancel recurring orders and refrain from making new deposits.

The company said its workforce peaked at approximately 1,100 in 2022 and stood at about 550 heading into the end of 2025. The latest cuts bring headcount down to roughly 400.

The Winklevoss brothers attributed the downsizing to efficiency gains from artificial intelligence tools, which they said have expanded engineer productivity by 100 times compared to previous benchmarks. "Doing more with less has never been more true or possible," they wrote.

The company said the changes will "meaningfully accelerate our path to profitability even in the backdrop of the current crypto market."

Gemini noted that foreign markets "have proven hard to win in for various reasons" and created organizational complexity that drove up costs and slowed operations. The company said it lacks sufficient demand in those regions to justify continued investment.

Gemini launched a prediction markets platform in mid-December that has attracted more than 10,000 users who have traded over $24 million, the company said. The founders described prediction markets as a "truth machine" that will become central to the exchange's product offering.

"Our thesis is that prediction markets will be as big or bigger than today's capital markets," they said, adding the service will be positioned "more front-and-center" in the user experience.

The market exits reverse expansion efforts announced in October 2025, when Gemini appointed James Logan as head of Australia, and announced formal registration with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac).

The announcement comes as the cryptocurrency industry faces a prolonged market downturn. Bitcoin has fallen approximately 40% from its October 2025 peak, pressuring exchange revenues that depend on trading volumes.

Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed its lawsuit against Gemini over the company's Earn program, which the regulator had alleged constituted unregistered securities offerings. The SEC cited Gemini's return of customer assets as grounds for dismissal.

Gemini reported a quarterly loss of $159.5 million for the period ending Sept. 3, 2025, according to its most recent filing. The company also said it anticipates about $11 million in pretax restructuring expenses in the first quarter of 2026, with most of the restructuring expected to be completed in the first half of the year.