Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss just paid 2.5x the market price for their own company's stock, injecting $100 million into Gemini Space Station at $14 per share, more than double the $5.26 close on Thursday. They paid entirely in bitcoin. The purchase through Winklevoss Capital Fund closed May 14, adding 7,142,857 Class A shares to the twins' already dominant stake. The roughly 1,258 BTC transferred onto Gemini's balance sheet signals what the founders believe the stock is worth, not what the public market is willing to pay.
Gemini priced its IPO at $28 a share in September 2025, valuing the company at about $3.3 billion. Eight months later, the stock sits at roughly a fifth of that valuation.
Thursday's close left Gemini at roughly $600 million, and the stock has spent most of 2026 below its IPO price. The investment arrived alongside Q1 earnings that beat expectations. Revenue rose 42% year-over-year to $50.3 million, above the $47.9 million FactSet consensus. The per-share loss of 93 cents came in lighter than the $1.03 analysts anticipated. But the headline numbers mask a split business. Exchange revenue dropped 27% to $17.2 million, with trading volume halving to $6.3 billion from $13.5 billion a year earlier. The core spot trading business is bleeding. Meanwhile, services revenue and interest income jumped 122% to $24.5 million, now making up 49% of total revenue.
Credit card revenue hit $14.7 million, nearly tripling year-over-year. OTC revenue surged from practically nothing to $6.3 million.
Prediction markets contributed $400,000 in their first full quarter.
"We believe the market has significantly undervalued Gemini, and that this investment will allow us to set up the company for its next phase of growth," Tyler Winklevoss said in a statement.
Shares initially spiked 30% in extended trading before settling around 17% higher at approximately $6.05 per share. Even after the pop, the stock remains more than 80% below its 52-week high of $45.89. The private placement closed the same day it was announced, according to an SEC filing. The filing also disclosed an amendment to Gemini's registration rights agreement, lowering the minimum aggregate offering threshold to $50 million, giving Winklevoss Capital an easier path to register and sell the newly issued shares down the line. The move comes two months after Gemini cut nearly 30% of its workforce, exited its Europe and Australia operations, and pivoted toward prediction markets. A shareholder lawsuit filed in March alleged the twins misled investors about the company's trajectory. A lead plaintiff deadline is set for May 18, three days from now. For a stock that has shed more than 80% of its value since its public debut, the $14 per share price is either a calculated signal or a costly vote of confidence. Either way, the Winklevoss twins just put 1,258 bitcoin on the table to prove which side they're on.
