(Bloomberg) -- The Winklevoss twins’ Gemini Trust Co LLC crypto exchange has made a slew of senior appointments in Europe, as it seeks to grow its presence in the region this year under the bloc’s new regulatory regime.
Mark Jennings, who previously ran rival exchange Kraken’s derivatives platform, has joined Gemini as its new head of Europe, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Jennings, who was also Kraken’s chief operating officer in Europe, formerly worked at Citigroup Inc., TP ICAP Group PLC and Credit Suisse Group AG.
Gemini also hired former Stake executive Daniel Slutzkin to lead its UK business, it said in the statement. Slutzkin was appointed to the board of the company’s UK entities in December, corporate filings show. Vijay Selvam, Gemini’s former general counsel for the Asia Pacific region, has relocated to London to take on the role of general counsel for the company’s international business, the exchange said.
The changes come as crypto exchanges across the European Union prepare applications for the bloc’s Markets in Cryptoassets regime, which kicked off full implementation in December. Gemini, which was founded by billionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in 2014, launched its operations in France in November.
Gemini has been attempting to gain a greater foothold in the European market for several years, but lags behind rivals in euro-denominated trading volumes. The exchange selected Dublin, Ireland as its regional headquarters in 2023 after the twins conducted a global tour of meetings with government and regulatory officials, including in Ireland and the UK.
In 2024, trading on Gemini accounted for less than 1% of the total European market with an average weekly euro-denominated volume of around €1 million ($1 million), according to data compiled by Kaiko. By comparsion weekly euro-denominated volume hit a peak of €12 billion in November. Dutch exchange Bitvavo BV led the way, Kaiko said, accounting for half of all euro-denominated volume that month.
In the UK, the exchange has changed leadership four times in under five years. Slutzkin replaces Stephanie Ramezan, a long-time Gemini executive who left the business in March last year. Her departure followed that of Blair Halliday from the same role in October 2022, and of Julian Sawyer in October 2020.
The country’s financial regulator laid out plans for a long-awaited crypto licensing regime in November. The rules are set to be finalized by the Financial Conduct Authority next year.
The twins have been vocal supporters of incoming US President Donald Trump, pledging sizable donations to his election campaign in June. Trump’s return to the White House is expected to be a major boon for the digital assets industry, with several crypto advocates having already been appointed as members of his incoming administration.
Gemini and other crypto companies have faced significant regulatory scrutiny in the US over the last few years. The exchange agreed to pay $5 million to settle a long-running dispute with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday, after claims it misled the regulator over plans to launch the first US-regulated Bitcoin futures contract.
(Updates with context on Gemini’s European operations in fifth, sixth and seventh paragraph.)
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.