Gemini Boosts Crypto Prediction Market Footprint in Apex Fintech Deal

Gemini Space Station (NASDAQ: GEMI), the digital currency brokerage owned by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is partnering with Apex Fintech Solutions in a deal aimed at capitalizing on cryptocurrency event contracts.

Under the terms of the partnership announced earlier today, Gemini will become the exclusive listing venue for cryptocurrency event contracts distributed by Apex’s Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) to its various brokerage customers. Financial terms of the deal weren’t revealed. Gemini landed a Designated Contract Market (DCM) license from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last December, allowing it to enter the prediction market industry.

Apex and Gemini share history. Last month, the latter introduced zero-commission equity trades for select clients in the U.S. with a unit of Apex acting as the clearing broker and custodian for those transactions.

Why Apex, Gemini Deal Is Noteworthy

Amid the rise of prediction markets, hardly a week goes by when the industry doesn’t reveal further intersection with its brokerage and fintech counterparts, implying the Apex/Gemini partnership isn’t “a big deal.”

Upon closer examination, the two companies working together is potentially significant in prediction market terms for a simple reason: Cryptocurrency is one of the industry’s fastest-growing non-sports segments. Data out last month indicated that volume in digital currency derivatives offered by yes/no exchanges surged 44x, confirming there’s strong appetite among traders for event contracts linked to Bitcoin, Ethereum and other major digital currencies.