TL;DR:
- Gemini launched 0% commission stock trading for users in most U.S. states, excluding Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and Guam.
- Nasdaq will provide real-time market data, while trades clear through Apex Clearing Corporation under Gemini’s updated FINRA Introducing Broker registration.
- Gemini is pursuing an all-in-one financial app strategy after CFTC license approvals and Q1 2026 revenue growth, despite a $109 million quarterly net loss.
Gemini has launched 0% commission stock trading for users in most U.S. states, pushing the crypto exchange further into mainstream brokerage territory. The rollout excludes Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and Guam, while Nasdaq will provide real-time market data. Cameron Winklevoss framed the expansion as a natural next step after more than a decade building financial platforms. The strategic message is broader than cheap trades: Gemini wants users managing crypto, stocks and other products inside one app, not hopping across separate financial venues anymore for daily portfolio decisions.
Brokerage infrastructure becomes Gemini’s next expansion layer
Gemini’s stock-trading structure also shows how far the company is moving toward regulated traditional finance. The firm updated its FINRA broker-dealer registration to operate as an Introducing Broker, meaning it can bring in customers and take orders without executing trades, holding assets or settling transactions. Stock trades will clear through Apex Clearing Corporation, which will also act as custodian. The plumbing is deliberately institutional, because the customer-facing app can look simple while execution, custody and clearing remain routed through established brokerage infrastructure behind the scenes for compliance, scale and operational continuity.
The timing fits a broader industry pattern. Zero-commission trading has become nearly standard after the rise of fee-free brokers such as Robinhood, and crypto exchanges are increasingly expanding beyond tokens into equities, commodities and derivatives. Gemini says it wants to become an “all-in-one financial super app,” a phrase that sounds ambitious but also exposes the competitive pressure. Crypto exchanges are fighting for wallet share across asset classes, not just trading volume inside digital assets, as customers expect one interface for speculation, investment, yield products, custody and eventual market access across multiple regulated product categories.
Gemini’s wider regulatory buildout reinforces that direction. The company recently secured Commodity Futures Trading Commission approval for Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization licenses, allowing its Olympus subsidiary to support futures and prediction-market operations. Tyler Winklevoss said crypto was only the beginning and that Gemini aims to bring products from crypto to equities and derivatives under one regulated platform. Still, the super-app thesis must prove commercial leverage, especially after Gemini reported 42% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2026 but a $109 million quarterly net loss, while service traction from credit cards, staking and custody has not yet offset costs fully.
