• Greater Price Discovery: Auction focuses market participants and economic information at a single moment in the day, resulting in better price discovery.
• Mark-to-Market Benchmark Price: Auction provides an official 4:00 p.m. ET end-of-day price for marking assets to market (e.g., for accounting purposes or for calculating returns).
• Lower Fees: Auction trades receive our liquidity-making fee discounts and are therefore eligible for up to a 15 bps (0.15%) rebate (unlike OTC trades that can cost upwards of 1–2% per trade).
• Instant Settlement: Auction trades settle immediately and funds are ready for immediate transfer (unlike OTC trades that can require phone calls, emails, specialized paperwork, risk during funds transfer, etc.).
• No Counterparty Risk: Auction trades settle immediately from pre-funded accounts, eliminating the risk that your counterparty will back out of a trade (unlike OTC trades which are typically not pre-funded).
• Competitive Pricing: Auction participants potentially have the opportunity to purchase bitcoins at a discount or sell bitcoins at a premium against the exchange continuous orderbook.
• Price Stability: Auction participants that are looking to execute buy or sell orders for a large quantity can potentially receive a better price because the demand quantity is hidden. With OTC trading, because the quantity is known between the counterparties, participants negotiate the price and often pay a premium to execute their large orders.
• Source of Liquidity: Gemini’s auction provides clients an outlet for liquidity 7 days a week, including holidays, for those who are in need of filling an order that day.

For more detailed information on our different order types, please see our Marketplace page.