Gemini eyes UK as ‘second headquarters’

Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are reportedly considering opening a second headquarters in the United Kingdom.

According to a May 24 report from The Telegraph, the founders met with officials from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Bank of England as part of a larger plan to expand the business’s footprint outside of the United States as regulatory scrutiny increases.

Gemini highlights U.S. regulatory uncertainty

Several exchanges have complained about the regulatory environment in the U.S. as regulators have doubled their enforcement actions against crypto firms in response to a series of collapses within the industry last year.

While it survived 2022, Gemini is now facing legal challenges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has alleged that Gemini and Genesis failed to register its Earn product as securities, ultimately leading to the project being scrapped altogether.

Cameron Winklevoss said:

“There are so many headwinds right now in the US it’s hard to get anything done there. And so in order to keep building our business and invest in hiring, we have to look elsewhere.”

Winklevoss praised the U.K.’s crypto and talent markets and projected that the company might one day have more employees outside the U.S. However, he noted that the exchange does not plan to leave the U.S. and intends to continue fighting for a foothold there. He continued:

“We’re not leaving the US, we’re going to continue to fight the good fight there. But we also understand that you can vote with your feet.”

Gemini already operates in the U.K. under an FCA license, and the founders have described it as a second home.

Nevertheless, setting up in the U.K. might not be smooth sailing, given the opposition to the industry. A recent report by the Treasury Select Committee of the British Parliament recommended that crypto should be regulated like gambling, calling into question how much friendlier the U.K. will be toward the growing industry.

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