KAST Buys Gemini’s UK and EU Operations for Under $10 Million: Report

KAST Picks Up Gemini’s UK and EU Arm

Singapore-based stablecoin payments startup KAST has bought the UK and European operations of crypto exchange Gemini for less than $10 million, according to reporting that cites a single source familiar with the transaction. No acquisition has been formally announced as of Thursday, 2026-11-12, and the price has not surfaced in any company filing. KAST, which offers stablecoin accounts and payment cards, did not go further than a spokesperson’s line that it is “actively in the market for M&A, as our revenue and footprint grows,” a statement that stops short of confirming the deal. Gemini, founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and listed on Nasdaq through its holding company Gemini Space Station (GEMI), did not respond to a request for comment.

KAST’s own hiring points the same way. A listing for a General Manager, Europe asks the incoming executive to manage the transfer of Gemini’s UK and EU staff to KAST and the integration of the acquired UK and EU entities, and to make sure KAST’s products fit under the new licences. The role also covers partners handling a two-phase move from operational accounts to client-money accounts, which hold customer funds separately from the operator’s own balances. Client-money accounts matter because UK rules require customer balances to be ring-fenced this way. The regulatory backdrop is already on the record. Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in February that both Gemini UK units would close all customer accounts on April 6, and that it would keep working with the firms until their permissions and registration were cancelled. Whether those permissions survive a change of owner has not been disclosed, and neither company has published an official statement on the transaction.

A Retreat Two Quarters in the Making

The reported sale completes a European pullback Gemini set out earlier this year. Its second-quarter earnings release restated plans “to wind down operations in the United Kingdom, European Union, other European jurisdictions, and Australia.” The retreat, framed as a cost-cutting measure, also took about a quarter of its staff and the exits of its operating, finance and legal chiefs with it. Public markets have priced the strategy harshly: GEMI has lost almost 93% of its value since the exchange’s 2025 initial public offering and changes hands near $2.72. An April 10-K filing also disclosed a multi-million-dollar loan loop between the exchange and its founders, who put $100 million back in through Winklevoss Capital Fund LLC in May and spent $5 million backing Republicans in the U.S. midterm elections. The buyer is not a distressed outfit. KAST, co-founded by former Circle executive Raagulan Pathy and fintech specialist Daniel Bertoli, raised $80 million in a Series A led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital in March at a $600 million valuation, with part of the round earmarked for licences and compliance. Europe was not among the expansion regions KAST named at the time, which makes the Gemini deal its first documented entry into the bloc. Gemini’s departure also thins the field for UK users comparing the best crypto exchanges serving the market. The company is due to report third-quarter results after U.S. markets close on Thursday, and none of the 8-K reports it has filed with the SEC this year, the filings U.S.-listed companies use to disclose major events, mentioned a sale as of Thursday morning.

What the Price Says About the Deal

The sub-$10 million figure tells the story on its own. A UK business that was scheduled to shut every customer account in April has little operating revenue left to sell; what KAST appears to be paying for, based on the documents above, is regulated entities, a working team and a shortened path to European licences rather than a going concern. That makes the FCA permissions the deal’s central open question, since the regulator said in February it would work with the two firms only until their registrations were cancelled, and nothing published so far confirms those registrations transfer with the entities. For UK and EU users whose access route just changed, our guide on buying Bitcoin in Europe covers what remains available. Until Gemini addresses the transaction on Thursday’s earnings call, the hiring listing remains the only paper trail.