Compare
DY dYdX VS GM Gemini
These two exchanges don't share an obvious product overlap. Differences below come from our individual reviews of dYdX and Gemini.
| dYdX | Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 (dYdX Chain v4 launched October 2023) | 2014 |
| Regions | Blocked for US, Canadian, UK, and sanctioned-territory persons at the protocol's terms-of-use level on the main front end; open-source front ends and direct chain access mean geographic enforcement is a terms-of-use matter rather than a technical one: read the restrictions before connecting a wallet. | Strong US availability under New York state trust-company oversight. A separate non-US entity, Gemini Foundation, offers derivatives to customers outside the US, UK, and EU; US customers cannot trade margin or perpetual futures on Gemini at all. |
| Products | Perpetual futures (primary product), Spot (newer, limited rollout) | Spot, Staking, Perpetual futures (non-US customers only, via Gemini Foundation), Institutional custody |
| Maker fee | Not yet verified | Verify current tier: Gemini's default app and its ActiveTrader interface run different, volume-based fee schedules |
| Taker fee | Not yet verified | Verify current tier: Gemini's default app and its ActiveTrader interface run different, volume-based fee schedules |
dYdX pros
- Fully non-custodial: funds sit in your own wallet and on-chain margin account, never in a company-controlled hot or cold wallet
- Fully open source, including the validator software, indexer, and web/iOS/Android front ends, so no single company operates the exchange once it's running
- Deep specialization in perpetual futures with an order book and matching engine built specifically for that product, rather than derivatives bolted onto a spot exchange
- Governance and fee schedule are transparent and on-chain, set by DYDX token-holder votes rather than a private company's internal decisions
Gemini pros
- NYDFS-chartered limited purpose trust company with fiduciary and qualified-custodian status under New York Banking Law since 2015
- Now a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: GEMI, listed September 2025), adding public financial disclosure on top of existing state oversight
- Strong account-security tooling, including hardware-key 2FA, and no reported hack resulting in loss of customer crypto
- The Earn collapse was ultimately resolved with the large majority of assets returned, and an arbitrator later found Gemini itself not at fault
This table is generated from the same data behind our individual exchange reviews. See methodology for how it's put together. Fee figures marked "not yet verified" need confirming against live terms before this page is treated as launch-ready.