Gemini’s long-awaited IPO filing drew fresh attention to payments giant Ripple, with the exchange disclosing a $75 million credit line from the company alongside a steep financial loss.
In documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Aug. 15, Gemini revealed a $282.5 million net loss for the first half, an almost seven-fold increase from the $41.4 million shortfall a year earlier. Revenue fell to $67.9 million from $74.3 million.
The filing puts Gemini, which plans to use the ticker “GEMI” on Nasdaq, in line to become the third crypto exchange to trade publicly in the U.S. after Coinbase (COIN), which debuted on Nasdaq in 2021, and Bullish (BLSH), the owner of CoinDesk, whose shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange a week ago.
Ripple’s role in the listing stood out. In the filing, Gemini said it entered a credit agreement with Ripple Labs in July granting access to up to $75 million in loans, with the option to extend the facility to $150 million if certain metrics are met.
Each drawdown must be at least $5 million and carries interest of either 6.5% or 8.5%, secured against collateral.
In addition, once borrowing surpasses the initial $75 million, requests can be denominated in Ripple’s dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin. As of the filing date, however, no borrowings had been drawn under the facility
The credit deal with Gemini puts RLUSD directly in the mix as a settlement option for a major U.S. trading platform — an early indication that Ripple wants its stablecoin to compete alongside the two market leaders, Tether’s USDT and USDC, issued by Circle Internet (CRCL).