Winklevoss Stays Bullish as Gemini Faces Reset

TheNewsCryptoPublicado em 2026-02-23Última atualização em 2026-02-23

Resumo

Tyler Winklevoss remains optimistic about crypto despite bleak market conditions, even as the exchange he co-founded, Gemini, undergoes a significant strategic reset due to mounting financial pressures. While Gemini's revenue rose to an expected $165-$175 million in 2025, its operating costs surged to over $520 million. This widening gap forced the company to cut 25% of its workforce, exit several international markets, and part ways with key executives. Consequently, Gemini's global market share has fallen sharply, and its valuation has dropped significantly. The company is now pivoting to new areas like prediction markets and custody services to diversify revenue. This restructuring occurs amid a negative crypto sentiment, with Bitcoin ETFs seeing outflows and fear levels high. Despite this, Tyler views the extreme pessimism as a potential precursor to recovery, though Gemini must first stabilize its operations to convert optimism into tangible results.

Tyler Winklevoss says he feels optimistic precisely because crypto sentiment looks so bleak. However, the exchange he co-founded with his brother Cameron now faces a sharp strategic reset as financial pressures mount.

As per the data available on Arkham, there has been a significant decline in the Bitcoin assets held by Winklevoss Capital over the past year. The balance in the wallet has been reduced from around 23,000 BTC in February 2025 to less than 11,000 BTC in February 2026. This is contrary to the optimistic approach taken by Tyler.

Gemini Revenue Rises but Costs Surge

Gemini’s latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows mixed signals. The exchange expects net revenue between $165 million and $175 million for 2025, up from $141 million in 2024. Monthly transacting users climbed 17% year-over-year to approximately 600,000.

Operating expenses, however, have ballooned. Gemini projects cost between $520 million and $530 million for 2025, compared with $308 million the previous year. The widening gap between revenue and expenses forced management to act quickly.

On Feb. 5, Gemini announced it would cut up to 25% of its workforce. The exchange exited the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Australia to concentrate operations in the United States and Singapore.

Less than two weeks later, Gemini parted ways with its chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and chief legal officer. Cameron Winklevoss assumed expanded responsibilities as interim leaders stepped into finance and legal roles.

Market Share Slips as Strategy Shifts

Gemini’s global spot market share has fallen sharply. Bloomberg reported that the exchange’s share dropped to around 0.1% in January, down from 0.6% in mid-2025. Its valuation has also declined from nearly $4 billion to under $700 million since its public listing last year.

Management now pivots toward new growth areas. Gemini also has plans to enter the business of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulated prediction markets, as well as custody and credit card services. This is a result of a desire to diversify their revenue streams.

Bleak Sentiment Weighs on Industry

Gemini’s restructuring is taking place in a rather unusual negative sentiment environment in the crypto space. US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded five consecutive weeks of outflows. Sentiment indicators such as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index have slipped into extreme fear territory. Google searches for “Bitcoin going to zero” have surged to levels last seen in 2022.

Yet several high-profile investors remain committed. Japan’s Metaplanet continues accumulating Bitcoin aggressively. Strategy, the largest publicly listed Bitcoin holder with over 717,000 BTC, has hinted at another purchase milestone. Arthur Hayes also maintains a heavy Bitcoin allocation alongside gold and oil.

Macro analyst Lyn Alden remains constructive on Bitcoin but expects a grinding market rather than a rapid rally.

Tyler Winklevoss frames this pessimism as an opportunity. He thinks that extreme negativity is often a precursor to long-term recovery. But Gemini needs to stabilize its operations and regain market share before optimism can be converted into tangible results.

The next few months will prove whether Gemini’s strategic overhaul can help it regain competitiveness in the increasingly consolidated market of exchanges.

Highlighted Crypto News:

Zcash (ZEC) Under Pressure: Will It Lose the $240 Support?

TagsBitcoinBTC holdingCrypto ExchangeGeminiTyler Winklevoss

Perguntas relacionadas

QDespite Tyler Winklevoss's stated optimism, what does the data from Arkham show about the Bitcoin holdings of Winklevoss Capital over the past year?

AThe data from Arkham shows a significant decline in Bitcoin assets held by Winklevoss Capital, with the balance reducing from around 23,000 BTC in February 2025 to less than 11,000 BTC in February 2026.

QWhat were the key financial figures and user growth for Gemini reported in its SEC filing, and what was the major issue with its expenses?

AGemini expected net revenue between $165 million and $175 million for 2025, up from $141 million in 2024, with monthly transacting users growing 17% to 600,000. However, operating expenses ballooned to between $520 million and $530 million, creating a large gap between revenue and costs.

QWhat significant operational changes did Gemini announce in February to address its financial pressures?

AGemini announced it would cut up to 25% of its workforce and exited the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Australia to concentrate its operations in the United States and Singapore. It also parted ways with its COO, CFO, and CLO.

QHow has Gemini's market position changed, and what new business areas is it pivoting towards for growth?

AGemini's global spot market share fell to around 0.1% in January from 0.6% in mid-2025, and its valuation declined from nearly $4 billion to under $700 million. The company is now pivoting towards CFTC-regulated prediction markets, custody, and credit card services to diversify revenue.

QAccording to the article, why does Tyler Winklevoss view the current bleak crypto sentiment as an opportunity?

ATyler Winklevoss views the extreme negativity in crypto sentiment as a precursor to long-term recovery, framing the current pessimism as an opportunity. He believes this often precedes a market turnaround.

Leituras Relacionadas

Apple Also Has to Pay Rent Now

Apple Pays Rent Too: The Two-Way Flow of "Traffic Tax" and "AI Capability Rent" Between Tech Giants For over two decades, Google has paid Apple an estimated $20 billion annually to remain the default search engine on Safari, a "traffic tax" for a critical user entry point. However, in 2026, the direction of this cash flow partially reversed. Apple agreed to pay Google roughly $1 billion per year to license its Gemini AI models, as Apple's own models reportedly struggled with complex tasks. This creates a unique dynamic: Apple acts as the "landlord" in the established search ecosystem, collecting rent from Google for access. Simultaneously, in the emerging AI arena, Apple becomes the "tenant," paying Google for access to cutting-edge AI capabilities it cannot currently match internally. While Apple claims its new models are "distilled" from Gemini outputs and contain "not a drop" of Google's original code, core dependencies remain. Its knowledge base is refined using Gemini's outputs, and its most powerful cloud model runs on Google's infrastructure. Apple has structured the deal as non-exclusive, allowing it to theoretically switch AI suppliers—a hedge against over-reliance. The future hinges on whether advanced AI models become a commodity (cheap and abundant) or remain a concentrated, scarce resource (expensive and controlled by few). Apple is betting on the former, leveraging its massive device ecosystem to be a powerful, choosy customer. If the latter proves true, its bargaining power could erode. This power dynamic is extending to developers. Apple, Google, and WeChat are all pushing for apps to expose their core functions as standardized "actions" or "intents" that their respective AI assistants (Siri, Gemini, WeChat AI) can directly call. The new scarce resource is no longer just app store visibility, but "being selected by the AI." The currency of "rent" has changed from a 30% revenue share to ceding control over how users interact with an app's functions.

marsbitHá 2m

Apple Also Has to Pay Rent Now

marsbitHá 2m

Missed the SpaceX IPO? WEEX's "First Trade Protection" Lets You Experience US Stock Trading Risk-Free.

With the excitement around SpaceX's recent public listing reigniting interest in the US stock market, Chinese investors face significant challenges accessing compliant and convenient trading channels following regulatory actions against major online brokers. This article explores the available options, highlighting their risks and limitations. Traditional paths for US stock investments remain problematic. Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) and Listed Open-Ended Fund (LOF) products, while compliant, suffer from high fees, significant purchase premiums, and a very limited selection of assets. Small, unregulated offshore brokers pose substantial risks, including potential insolvency. While secure, VIP accounts at banks in Hong Kong or Singapore require high minimum deposits (often 1-2 million RMB) and in-person visits, placing them out of reach for most retail investors. The article positions cryptocurrency exchanges, specifically their TradFi (traditional finance on-chain) offerings, as a compelling alternative. Platforms like WEEX are noted for providing access to a wide range of US stocks and ETFs, including SpaceX (SPCXON), through tokenized assets. This method offers advantages such as a single account for both crypto and traditional assets, USDT-based settlement avoiding fiat complexities, flexible leverage, and robust risk management. To attract users, WEEX is promoting a "First Trade Guarantee" campaign. Running from June 15 to July 8 (UTC+8), it features a $30,000 prize pool. Users who trade $500 worth of US stock contracts can qualify for a guarantee on their first eligible trade: 100% loss coverage up to $30 or a 20% bonus on profits up to $30. The campaign is presented as a low-risk opportunity for both crypto natives and traditional investors to experience US stock trading.

marsbitHá 4m

Missed the SpaceX IPO? WEEX's "First Trade Protection" Lets You Experience US Stock Trading Risk-Free.

marsbitHá 4m

How Difficult is Chip Making? A Division Error Costs 475 Million Dollars

How Hard Is It to Make a Chip? A Division Error Cost $475 Million Chip expert Shi Kan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a popular tech creator, explains the immense challenges of chip development. Chips are foundational to modern technology, but their creation is extraordinarily difficult. The journey from sand to a functional chip involves complex design and manufacturing, but a critical bottleneck is verification—ensuring the design works flawlessly before costly production. A single, undetected bug can have catastrophic consequences, as illustrated by the infamous 1994 Intel Pentium FDIV bug. A flaw in the floating-point division unit forced a recall costing $475 million. Unlike software, chips cannot be easily patched after manufacture, making "first-time success" paramount. However, industry surveys show only 24% of chip projects achieve this; over three-quarters require at least one costly re-spin due to design flaws. Verification has thus become the dominant phase, consuming up to 70% of the design cycle. The core challenge is a "verification impossible triangle" between high performance, good debuggability, and low cost. Exhaustively verifying a modern CPU core could take 15,000 years with software simulation, or 30 years with advanced hardware emulation—timeframes utterly impractical for development. Despite being essential, verification is often seen as unglamorous "dirty work," receiving less academic attention than fields like AI. Shi and his team are tackling this by developing an agile verification research framework called ENCORE, based on FPGA technology, to improve verification efficiency and debug capability. Beyond research, Shi engages in public science communication through long-form video content, aiming to demystify chip technology, AI, and computer science. He argues for the value of pursuing "hard and long-term" endeavors, whether in the meticulous world of chip verification or in creating substantive educational content, believing such sustained effort is likely the right path forward.

marsbitHá 13m

How Difficult is Chip Making? A Division Error Costs 475 Million Dollars

marsbitHá 13m

Blockchain Has Finally Started to Sail into the Mainstream After 18 Years

Blockchain Finds Its True Path After 18 Years: Becoming the Financial Backbone for AI Agents and Autonomy This analysis explores a pivotal shift in the blockchain and crypto investment landscape, driven by the dominance of AI. Major venture capital firms, including Variant, Paradigm, Haun Ventures, and YZi Labs, are moving beyond pure "crypto" investment theses. They are expanding their focus to AI, robotics, and frontier tech, signaling that blockchain is no longer seen as a standalone sector but as an underlying infrastructure layer. The core argument is that blockchain's killer application may not be user-facing apps, but rather providing the economic rails for the coming wave of AI agents, autonomous robots, and automated systems. Key capabilities like self-custody wallets, programmable stablecoins for micropayments, on-chain identity, and verifiable smart contracts are positioned as essential for a future where machines conduct economic activity. The recent $1.4 billion investment by Tether (via its venture arm) in German robotics company NEURA Robotics exemplifies this, aiming to embed Tether's wallet tools directly into robots for autonomous transactions. While many "AI + Crypto" projects remain superficial, the article concludes that true value lies where crypto is a necessary component—enabling machine-to-machine payments, agent autonomy, verifiable data provenance, and open financial settlement for the AI era. For crypto venture capital, this convergence with AI represents both an adaptation to shifting capital flows and a potential path to unlocking the large-scale, non-speculative utility the industry has long sought.

marsbitHá 34m

Blockchain Has Finally Started to Sail into the Mainstream After 18 Years

marsbitHá 34m

Trading

Spot
Futuros
活动图片