Billionaire Winklevoss Twins-Backed Gemini Launches Self-Custodial Smart Wallet

Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has launched the Gemini Wallet, a new self-custodial smart wallet that aims to streamline user access to Web3 protocols, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, and onchain applications, the company said in a blog post Thursday.

Available at onchain.gemini.com, the Gemini Wallet allows users to move seamlessly between embedded and portable wallet experiences, removing the need for separate apps or complex seed phrases.

The wallet features passkey-based login for instant access via biometrics, social recovery tools to regain access without compromising privacy, and an integrated dashboard for exploring dapps, managing assets, and earning yield, Gemini said.

Competition in the crypto wallet space is heating up. Rival digital asset exchange Coinbase (COIN) recently announced the rebrand and technological overhaul of its Base layer 2 ecosystem. This involved the transformation of Coinbase Wallet into the Base App, an all-in-one platform designed to merge finance, messaging, content creation, and decentralized applications under a single roof.

To lower onboarding friction, Gemini is covering gas fees on select blockchains for key actions, and offering free ENS subdomains to all users.

The rollout of the smart wallet is the just the beginning of the journey onchain, with many more launches planned in the future, said Gemini’s head of onchain, Eric Kuhn, in an interview.

An upcoming update will connect the wallet directly to users’ exchange accounts, enabling onchain trades without requiring separate deposits.

Gemini will be teaming up with BlockAid, WalletConnect, Bungee, and Morpho to aid the launch.

The Defiant reported that Gemini was expanding into DeFi with the upcoming launch of a platform dubbed Gemini Onchain, alongside a self-custodial wallet, in an article last week.

Read more: Winklevoss Claims JPMorgan Halted Gemini Onboarding After Data Access Fees Criticism