The Gemini Dollar is designed to provide liquidity for users who want to send or receive US dollars through the Ethereum network, say Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, heads of Gemini.

The New York Department of Financial Services has reviewed and approved the new Gemini Dollar. “It is part of our mission to build the future of money. It is the missing link between the traditional banking system and the crypto economy,” says Tyler Winklevoss.

Need for a trusted digital representation of the USD

The twins say that there have thus far been no trusted and regulated digital representation of the US dollar that move in an open, decentralised way like cryptocurrencies, which suggests the Winklevosses intend to rival Tether.

“The Gemini dollar (ticker symbol: GUSD) combines the creditworthiness and price stability of the US dollar with blockchain technology and the oversight of US regulators, namely, the New York State Department of Financial Services,” says the firm.

Gemini Dollar whitepaper

The GUSD whitepaper explains that the Gemini Dollar has been created as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. The Gemini platform will allow users to purchase GUSD by depositing dollars into their accounts and then convert them into tokens that can then be withdrawn to an Ethereum address.

Tether is currently the eighth largest cryptocurrencies. It has a market capitalisation of nearly $2.8 billion. Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that has a higher daily trading volume.

The SEC has rejected two Bitcoin ETF applications submitted by the Winklevoss twins. One of the SEC’s main arguments to disapprove their applications was that it did not agree with the Winklevoss claim that Bitcoin markets, including the Gemini crypto exchange, are “uniquely resistant to manipulation”.