Crypto exchange Gemini announced on Thursday its withdrawal from the markets of the United Kingdom, European Union and Australia as the corporate reduced its workforce by 25%.
Gemini cited artificial intelligence that automates work and makes engineers “100 times” more efficient, in addition to a tougher business environment within the UK, EU and Australia as reasons for the exit, Thursday's announcement said:
“For quite a lot of reasons, these foreign markets have proven difficult to penetrate and we’re faced with a level of organizational and operational complexity that’s driving up our cost structure and slowing us down.
“We would not have the demand in these regions to justify it. The reality is that America has the most important capital markets on the earth,” the announcement said.
Instead, the corporate will focus its resources on developing its prediction market platform Gemini Predictions, launched in December 2025, and constructing its business within the US.
The news comes at a difficult time for the crypto industry as digital asset prices proceed to fall amid a broad market downturn that began with a flash crash in October and the stalling of the CLARITY Act, a highly anticipated piece of laws governing the structure of the U.S. crypto market.
Gemini is shifting its focus to prediction markets because the sector grows
Gemini's announcement highlights the growing role of prediction markets in its strategy, which it says will likely be “more central” to its platform.
“Our thesis is that prediction markets will likely be as large or larger than today’s capital markets,” the announcement said.
The company said it has seen over 10,000 users on Gemini Predictions and $24 million in trading volume since its launch.
Trading volume on the prediction market surged within the third quarter of 2024 through the US presidential election, with total trading volume increasing 565.4% quarter-on-quarter to roughly $3.1 billion.
Daily trading volume for prediction markets from September 2024 to February 2026. Source: Dune
In January 2026, every day trading volume on the prediction market ranged from about $277 to about $550 million, in keeping with data from Dune.
According to Dune, the market continues to be dominated by Polymarket and Kalshi, with Polymarket accounting for over 37% of the prediction market's total 24-hour trading volume and Kalshi commanding 26%.
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