Gemini continues its expansion in Europe with a new investment offering: tokenized US stocks available 24/7, directly on the blockchain. To inaugurate this new product, Gemini is offering investors the opportunity to invest in Strategy’s MSTR stock, famous for its Bitcoin accumulations.
Gemini launches tokenized stock offering for European customers
Gemini, the Winklevoss brothers’ crypto exchange, has just announced that it is now offering tokenized shares within the European Union. This will give the platform’s European customers access to on-chain representations of shares that can be traded 24/7.
To kick off its offering, Gemini has chosen to start with MSTR, the stock of Strategy, Michael Saylor’s company known for its unlimited accumulation of Bitcoin. MSTR shares will be tradable via the Arbitrum network, according to the press release.
This means that anyone in the world with a smartphone and an internet connection can access tokenized US stocks such as MSTR on the blockchain. This is the future of finance, and the future is here.
Gemini
To launch this new product, Gemini has partnered with Dinari, a startup that recently obtained the first broker-dealer registration for a platform specializing in stock tokenization. Unlike retail brokers such as Charles Schwab or Robinhood, Dinari works with other companies to integrate its interface into their platforms instead of offering its services directly to customers.
There are already plans to offer other stocks—exclusively US stocks, according to Gemini’s press release—on the crypto exchange in the near future. The same is expected for ETFs, although no further information has been provided on this subject.
What is the point of investing in tokenized stocks?
For European users, one of the main advantages is being able to avoid dollar/euro fluctuations (and exchange fees) as well as sometimes high transaction fees. Here, Gemini aims to offer a “frictionless” experience in one place.
For crypto investors—who are the main target market—this allows them to manage their financial assets on-chain a little more easily. In concrete terms, the idea is to be able to manage investments in stocks and cryptocurrencies in one place.
Furthermore, unlike traditional stock markets (which are limited to trading hours), tokenized stocks can be traded at any time, just like cryptocurrencies.
Finally, although this is not exclusive to tokenized stocks, Gemini emphasizes that its offering allows investors to invest in fractional shares. For example, if a stock is trading at $600 on the market, it is possible to buy only a fraction of it: $100, $250, etc.
Recently, the crypto exchange Kraken launched an offering of tokenized stocks and on-chain ETFs with “xStocks,” which is based on tokens issued on the Solana blockchain. And Coinbase could well be the next to enter this market segment.
