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Gemini’s retail spot trading volume dropped 14% quarter-on-quarter to $600 million in the third quarter of 2026, the exchange’s weakest retail showing since Q3 2023, according to Cointelegraph. The decline came even as total spot volume at the Winklevoss-founded exchange rose 18% to $4.5 billion.
Gemini’s quarterly results, published in the company’s Q3 2026 earnings release, show the split clearly: institutional spot volume climbed 26% to $3.9 billion while retail slipped. Gemini said the overall gain was “supported by increased institutional Zcash activity and expanded affiliated market-making,” per Cointelegraph, and did not give a reason for the retail drop.
Also read: Gemini and Apex Fintech Plan to Bring Crypto Prediction Markets to Brokerage Clients
Key facts
- Total spot trading volume rose 18% quarter-on-quarter to $4.5 billion; institutional volume rose 26% to $3.9 billion and retail fell 14% to $600 million.
- Exchange revenue rose 7% quarter-on-quarter to $13.4 million, with retail traders still contributing nearly three-quarters of that total.
- Gemini Predictions revenue rose 52% quarter-on-quarter to $796,000.
- Revenue for the quarter was $40.9 million, down 19% from $50.6 million a year earlier, and the net loss narrowed to $58.6 million from $159.5 million, Crypto Briefing reported.
- Operating expenses fell 30% year-on-year to $119.9 million, the third consecutive quarterly decline, Crypto Briefing reported.
The retail slump behind an 18% rebound
Cointelegraph and Crypto Briefing describe the headline numbers differently because they measure different things. Cointelegraph reports a 7% quarter-on-quarter increase in exchange revenue to $13.4 million, on the strength of institutional business. Crypto Briefing reports that exchange revenue declined 47%, citing lower retail trading fees that offset more institutional activity, and that total company revenue fell 19% year-on-year. Both figures come from the same report but reflect different scopes.
The year-on-year comparison is much steeper than the quarter-on-quarter one. Crypto Briefing reported that total trading volume was $16.4 billion a year earlier and is now $4.5 billion, and that Gemini cut operating expenses largely through lower marketing and employee compensation. The exchange has spent 2026 shrinking its workforce and exiting several international markets, per Crypto Briefing.
Cost cuts land alongside newer business lines. Crypto Briefing reported the credit card division’s revenue rose 82% year-on-year, while chargeoffs climbed to $11.5 million from $3.4 million, partly tied to a previously disclosed fraud incident. Managed receivables reached $202.2 million and the 30-day-plus delinquency rate, excluding fraud, rose to 3.4% from 3.3%.
Peers lean on prediction markets too
Gemini is not alone in posting softer trading activity. Cointelegraph reported Coinbase’s consumer spot volume fell 9% quarter-on-quarter to $23.4 billion, with chief financial officer Alesia Haas pointing to prediction markets as an offset. At Robinhood, crypto revenue dropped 55% year-on-year to $120 million while event-contract revenue rose sixfold to $173 million.
Gemini’s own prediction unit is growing from a small base. Cointelegraph reported that average daily traders in October were about 50% above the Q3 average, and that nearly a third of new prediction traders were new to Gemini, more than double the Q3 share. A nonbinding August agreement with Apex Fintech Solutions would make Gemini Titan the exclusive venue for crypto event contracts distributed through Apex’s futures brokerage, subject to definitive agreements.
Why it matters
Gemini’s exchange business still depends on retail fees even as institutions drive volume, so a three-year low in retail participation hits revenue more than a headline volume gain suggests. The company has responded by cutting costs and building out cards, stock trading and event contracts, mirroring a shift at Coinbase and Robinhood. The quarterly loss narrowed sharply, but the revenue trajectory remains down year-on-year.
What to watch
Gemini is scheduled to host its Q3 earnings call on Friday, November 13, where management may address the retail decline. How far prediction-market activity carries into the fourth quarter, and whether the Apex distribution deal is finalized, are the next concrete markers.
Reported by Cointelegraph.
Sources: Cointelegraph, Crypto Briefing