A card-friendly exchange licensed across most of the US, but currently closed to deposits and trading in Europe.
The NYDFS-chartered trust company the Winklevoss twins founded, serving all 50 states including New York, listed on Nasdaq since 2025.
Gemini rates higher on our rubric: 4.4 against 4.0 for CEX.IO.
Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.
| Fact | CEX.IO | Gemini |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 4.0 | 4.4 (favoured on this row) |
| Published fees | Maker-taker; card costs more | 0.5% + flat fee on easy buys |
| Maker fee | Not published | Volume-tiered on ActiveTrader, falling with 30-day volume |
| Taker fee | Not published | Volume-tiered on ActiveTrader, falling with 30-day volume |
| Identity verification | Required | Required |
| Bitcoin-only | No | No |
| Payment rails supported | 6 | 6 |
| Countries ranked in | 146 | 1 |
| Ranks first in | 0 | 0 |
| Countries shared | 1 | 1 |
| Security record | 6 dated events, 1 incident, latest 2026-08-27 | 10 dated events, 2 incidents, latest 2026-04-21 |
| Founded | 2013 | 2014 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | New York, United States |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-27 | 2026-08-23 |
Each country guide ranks its own roster on published fees, security record and local payment support, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
| Country | Status | CEX.IO ranks | Gemini ranks | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Legal | #8 | #3 |
Dated events from each review, newest first: breaches, enforcement actions, licences, audits and proof-of-reserves publications. Every exchange ranked here carries one.
Deposits and trading unavailable in Europe, withdrawals still open
Money transmitter licences in 38 states and DC under NMLS 1804170
UK entity registered with the FCA under the money laundering rules
New York AG sues Gemini over unlicensed prediction markets
Gemini closes its UK, EU and Australia businesses
SEC drops its Gemini Earn lawsuit
Gemini rates higher on our rubric: 4.4 against 4.0 for CEX.IO. The rating weighs published fees, security record and local payment support; the table above sets each beside the other so you can check the score against the facts.
CEX.IO: Maker-taker; card costs more. Gemini: 0.5% + flat fee on easy buys. Those are each platform's published headline rates; card purchases and instant-buy widgets cost more than the order book on both, and each review carries the full schedule.
Both are ranked in our guides for United States. CEX.IO is ranked in 146 countries in all and Gemini in 1; each country guide ranks its own roster, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
CEX.IO carries 1 incident among 6 dated events, the latest on 2026-08-27: Deposits and trading unavailable in Europe, withdrawals still open. Gemini carries 2 incidents among 10 dated events, the latest on 2022-12-16: Third party vendor breach exposed 5.3 million customer email addresses. Both reviews list every event with its source.
CEX.IO: required; identity verification is required before purchasing.. Gemini: required; identity verification is required to deposit fiat and trade..
The full reviews: CEX.IO and Gemini, each with its sources, and every exchange we review.
Every other head-to-head CEX.IO or Gemini appears in.
United States