Gemini’s Nasdaq debut drew so many orders that the exchange reportedly capped proceeds at $425 million. The move breaks with IPO convention and shows both intense demand for crypto listings and a rare note of restraint from the Winklevoss-led firm.
Summary
- Gemini’s Nasdaq IPO was oversubscribed more than 20 times, forcing a $425 million hard cap.
- Lead underwriters Goldman Sachs and Citigroup closed the order book early amid overwhelming demand.
- Share price was raised to $24–$26, giving the company a potential market value over $3 billion.
On September 11, Reuters reported that the forthcoming initial public offering for crypto exchange Gemini was oversubscribed by more than 20 times, compelling lead underwriters Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to close the order book early.
In a highly unconventional move for a traditional listing, the investment banks, alongside Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, made the strategic decision to impose a hard cap of $425 million on the total raise.
The mechanism, which sacrifices potential capital in favor of reducing the number of shares sold, creates scarcity ahead of the company’s Nasdaq debut on Friday under the ticker “GEMI.”
A calculus of scarcity and value?
According to the Reuters report, based on the company’s own filings with the SEC, the raw math of the demand would have allowed Gemini to raise approximately $433 million without the self-imposed cap. This figure, however, pertains solely to the public share sale and does not include an additional, separate $50 million private placement commitment from Nasdaq itself.
The investor frenzy drove a significant uptick in share value well before the opening bell. In response to the overwhelming order flow, Gemini and its bankers were forced to upwardly revise the proposed share price range. The price jumped to between $24 and $26, a substantial increase from the initial range of $17 to $19 just days prior.
That sharp adjustment in pricing illustrates the depth of investor appetite, with Gemini’s valuation climbing rapidly even before its first day of trading. According to Reuters, the company’s potential market valuation could exceed $3 billion at the top of the range.
Once seen as risky outliers, firms like Gemini are now joining a growing list of digital asset players testing public listings. Just a day prior, stablecoin issuer Figure Technology successfully raised $787.5 million in an upsized IPO.
This activity follows enlarged offerings earlier this year from industry heavyweights like Bullish and Circle, painting a picture of a sector hitting its stride. A favorable regulatory shift, accelerating corporate adoption, and the monumental inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs have collectively built a wave of legitimacy that crypto companies are now riding into the public markets.
