The Gemini Trust Company is a cryptocurrency exchange and crypto custodian headquartered in New York that enables customers to buy, trade, sell, and store a variety of digital assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA). However, despite its many advantages, the Gemini exchange's high trading fees and hefty deposit costs for fiat payments with debit cards cannot be overlooked, so I cannot fully recommend using this platform if you're a Canadian crypto investor.
The best crypto exchange in Canada is Kraken, both for its high level of security and for its extremely low fees. Kraken charges 10-20x less than other Canadian exchanges, so if you're looking for a secure, cost-effective way to buy and sell crypto in Canada, I can't recommend Kraken highly enough.
What Is Gemini?
The Gemini Trust Company is a cryptocurrency exchange and cryptocurrency custodian that will enable you to buy, sell, and store a wide array of different digital assets.
Because Gemini is a trust company based in New York, its regulation is taken care of by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). It was founded in 2014 by the Winklevoss brothers.
Gemini Features
1. Great User Interface
Gemini's user interface is intended to be accessible to anybody. Gemini will be easy to navigate for investors who are new to the cryptocurrency sector, and purchases between cryptocurrencies in a few clicks are perfectly doable.
Gemini's ActiveTrader platforms, which will allow investors to utilize the cryptocurrency exchange to its full potential, will be more useful to seasoned crypto investors as well.
Trade crypto with the lowest fees
Claim your account by December 5, 2023 to get exclusive access to this special deal.
2. Gemini “My Portfolio” Feature
You'll also have access to the My Portfolio feature when using Gemini, and it's a feature that's definitely here to make your life easier.
It allows you to keep track of your account, view your balance, grant you access to 24-hour change and percent changes in the same place with only one look.
3. Gemini Mobile App
Gemini also offers a free mobile app with support for both the iOS and Android operating systems.
Both versions are highly regarded by mobile app users, who may use them to access many of the same features and functions as the desktop site.
Cryptocurrencies on Gemini
Gemini supports 48 cryptocurrencies in Canada. These are as follows:
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Basic Attention Token (BAT) | Decentraland (MANA) | Yearn Finance (YFI) |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Amp (AMP) | Kyber Network (KNC) | Aave (AAVE) |
| Litecoin (LTC) | Compound (COMP) | MakerDAO (MKR) | Filecoin (FIL) |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | PAX Gold (PAXG) | Ren (REN) | 1inch (1INCH) |
| Zcash (ZEC) | Gemini Dollar (GUSD) | Storj (STORJ) | Bancor Network Token (BNT) |
| Chainlink (LINK) | 0x (ZRX) | Synthetix (SNX) | BarnBridge (BOND) |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | Balancer (BAL) | UMA (UMA) | Somnium Space Cubes (CUBE) |
| MakerDAO (DAI) | Curve (CRV) | Uniswap (UNI) | Enjin (ENJ) |
| Injective (INJ) | Loopring (LRC) | Orchid (OXT) | Mirror (MIR) |
| The Graph (GRT) | The Sandbox (SAND) | Alchemix (ALCX) | Cryptex (CTX) |
| Polygon (MATIC) | SKALE (SKL) | Ankr (ANKR) | Tezos (XTZ) |
| Livepeer (LPT) | Sushiswap (SUSHI) | Fantom (FTM) | Ethereum Wrapped Filecoin (EFIL) |
Gemini Fees
Gemini's fees depend on the platform you're using for the most part, but they tend to max out at around 1.49%. However, if you're using a debit card for purchases, you'll have to pay a 3.49% fee. Gemini also charges a flat 0.5% above the current trading prices for mobile and web app users.
As for its transaction fees, it has a fee structure similar to Coinbase in the sense that your fees are based on the amount of crypto traded, as shown below:
| Amount traded | Fee |
| <$10 | $0.99 |
| $10 to $25 | $1.49 |
| $26 to $50 | $1.99 |
| $51 to $200 | $2.99 |
| >$200 | 1.49% |
It's worth noting that you can make up to 10 free crypto withdrawals per month for every different cryptocurrency, but extra withdrawals beyond these free withdrawals come with high fees. For example, your 11th Bitcoin withdrawal in a single month would cost 0.001 BTC, which is roughly 60.29 CAD.
Our Recommendation
Despite Gemini's neat features and its top-notch security measures, there's a big drawback to using it that doesn't allow me to recommend it completely, and that would be its high fees.
Although having access to 10 free crypto withdrawals per month and per crypto coin is nice, having to pay 1.49% in trading fees and 3.49% for fiat deposits with debit cards is simply too much: this would amount to thousands of CAD in the blink of an eye on larger crypto trades. Besides, those withdrawal fees will be pretty mean to your funds once your free withdrawals run out.
For this reason, I instead recommend that you consider using Kraken, our top-rated crypto exchange in Canada. Here are a few reasons I recommend it over Gemini.
Introducing Kraken: Our #1-Rated Crypto Exchange In Canada
Solid Option
|
Total Fees: ~3.2% |
★★★★ Rated 4.0/5 |
VirgoCX doesn't charge any trading fees, deposit fees or withdrawal fees—yet its extremely high spreads make it one of the more expensive crypto exchanges in Canada. Those spreads are generally around 3.2%, which means you pay 20x the fees as you would trading with Kraken, which is absurd.
Aside from the high fees, though, VirgoCX is a great exchange. Its trading platform and mobile app are intuitive and easy to use (even for beginners), it supports 50+ cryptocurrencies, and it offers 24/7 customer support via live chat and email, plus an extensive FAQ section on its site.
VirgoCX covers the first $6 in mining fees on crypto withdrawals, which means you generally won't pay anything to withdraw crypto. For security, VirgoCX maintains a 95% cold storage policy and requires 2-factor authentication on all accounts.
As a new VirgoCX user, you'll receive a $20 bonus upon funding your account with $100 or more.
If working with an easy to use platform is important to you, VirgoCX is a solid choice.
Features
- Supports 50+ cryptocurrencies
- Free fiat deposits and withdrawals
- Free deposits and withdrawals on most cryptocurrencies
- 24/7 support available via live chat and email
- User-friendly for both beginners and more advanced traders
- 95% cold storage policy
- Regulated by FINTRAC
Cost
- Trading Fees: 0%
- Spreads: 2% – 3.5%
- Fiat Deposit Fee: 0%
- Fiat Withdrawal Fee: 0%
Signup Bonus
$20 when you deposit $100
Best For
Crypto investors who choose not to sign up with Kraken.
In Summary
The Gemini Trust Company is a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange and crypto custodian that enables buying, selling, trading and storing a wide range of digital assets. However, Gemini's appealing features and top-notch security cannot compensate for having to pay a 1.49% trading fee rate and a 3.49% deposit fee rate for fiat deposits with debit cards, even if you have 10 free crypto withdrawals each month to mitigate this problem.
The best crypto exchange in Canada is Kraken, both for its high level of security and for its extremely low fees. Kraken charges 10-20x less than other Canadian exchanges, so if you're looking for a secure, cost-effective way to buy and sell crypto in Canada, I can't recommend Kraken highly enough.
Gemini FAQs
How To Withdraw From Gemini
To withdraw crypto funds from your Gemini account, you only have to follow these steps:
- Log in to your Gemini account.
- Navigate to the “Withdrawal” option.
- Select the currency you want to withdraw from the dropdown menu.
- Select the destination address, whether it's your personal crypto wallet or another cryptocurrency exchange.
- Input the amount you want to withdraw.
- Carefully double-check the withdrawal details.
- Click on the “Request Withdrawal” option.
If you use 2-factor authentication, the payment will only be completed if you approve the transaction within four minutes of requesting it using the Authy app for 2-factor authentication.
However, if you get 2-factor authentication codes via SMS, you will receive a text message with your authentication code to confirm the transaction.
Is Gemini Safe?
Yes, Gemini is a safe and secure crypto exchange. Like other exchanges we've reviewed, including Newton, Shakepay, VirgoCX, Bitbuy, CoinSmart and even Wealthsimpre Crypto, Gemini has never been hacked. This isn't the case with big names like Binance, which has been hacked several times. The cryptocurrencies on the platform are protected against security breaches and hacks, and nearly the entirety of their crypto assets are kept in cold storage, far away from the hands of hackers.
Gemini does not provide compensation for funds lost due to unauthorized account access, though, so make sure you safeguard access to your account as much as possible.
Is Gemini Legal In Canada?
Yes, Gemini is legal to use in Canada and its support spans all of the country's territory.
Gemini Referral Code
Unfortunately, there are no Gemini referral codes available at the moment. We'll update this post once these referral codes become available.
Does Gemini Report To The CRA?
No. Since Gemini is based in the U.S. (specifically in New York), it reports large transactions to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
