Gemini’s Game-Changer: Winklevoss Twins Launch Solana-Powered Credit Card Rewards
Gemini just dropped a crypto credit card that actually makes sense—and it's all about Solana rewards.
The Winklevoss Play
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are betting big on Solana's infrastructure with their latest financial product. Forget traditional cashback—this card lets users earn SOL directly on everyday purchases.Why This Matters
This marks the first major exchange-backed credit card specifically optimized for Solana rewards. While other cards offer generic crypto cashback, Gemini's targeting the SOL ecosystem directly—a strategic move that acknowledges Solana's growing transaction volume and developer activity.The Fine Print
Of course, there's always a catch with crypto financial products. The rewards structure depends on SOL's volatile pricing, and let's be honest—when has tying daily spending to crypto market swings ever gone wrong?Bottom line: Gemini's making a clear statement about where they see blockchain payments heading. Whether this becomes the crypto card to beat or just another financial experiment remains to be seen.
Nearly 300% Increase In SOL Rewards Over One Year
A standout feature of the new credit card is the ability for users to automatically stake their solana rewards, yielding up to 6.77% back. This is a first for Gemini customers, who can opt in to this feature when signing up for the card or choose it as their reward option if they are existing users.
Notably, Gemini reported that customers who held their SOL rewards for at least a year experienced impressive growth, with rewards increasing by 299.1% as of July 27, 2025—one of the best performances among cryptocurrencies available on the platform.
Additionally, the Gemini Credit Card is designed with user convenience in mind, featuring no annual fees, no charges for receiving crypto rewards, and no foreign transaction fees.
Earlier this year, Gemini expanded its offerings by launching institutional staking for Solana. This initiative enables exchange-traded funds (ETFs), corporations, and high-net-worth clients to stake their SOL directly through Gemini Custody.
This move, which began on June 23, included partnerships with firms like DeFi Dev Corp., managing over 2 million SOL, and Purpose Investments, a Canadian issuer of a Solana ETF.
Gemini And Solana Team Up For 48-Hour Streaming Event
In addition to the credit card launch, Gemini has partnered with Solana to host a 48-hour nonstop livestream on X (formerly Twitter), commencing October 21, directly from the Gemini headquarters in New York City.
These developments add to a significant year for the cryptocurrency exchange, which recently made its debut on the Nasdaq, with its stock GEMI, raising $425 million on the first day of its initial public offering (IPO).
The Winklevoss twins’ exchange joins the ranks of other crypto firms that have gone public this year, including Circle (CRCL), the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin (USDC), and Bullish (BLSH), backed by another crypto billionaire Peter Thiel.
As of this writing, GEMI, the cryptocurrency exchange’s stock with a market cap of $2.7 billion, is trading at $20.29. This price is below the company’s initial public offering price of $28.
Similarly, the Solana price has erased nearly all of its year-to-date gains, dropping 20% and 21% in the last fourteen and thirty days, respectively. This leaves SOL with only 17% gains year-to-date and down 36% from all-time high levels.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
