What is OTC?
Over-the-counter (OTC) refers to the practice of buying and selling cryptocurrencies off-exchange. An OTC liquidity provider, also known as an OTC desk, facilitates OTC trading by providing price quotes and fulfilling orders based on those quotes. When trading OTC, you may benefit from tighter spreads, deeper liquidity and reduced market impact than when trading on exchange.

What is eOTC?
Gemini Electronic Over-the-Counter is an automated trading solution available to institutions worldwide, to trade crypto assets. Once approved, you can log into Gemini.com, navigate to eOTC and get streaming pricing sourced from Gemini’s top tier liquidity providers, allowing you to place large orders for immediate execution, while incurring minimal transaction costs. For capital efficiency, Gemini provides delayed settlement, obviating the need to prefund your trading accounts. Gemini eOTC is integrated with Gemini Settlement, facilitating end of day settlement of all asset obligations resulting from a full day of trading in a single settlement ticket. Once a settlement is confirmed and funded by both sides, all assets transfer simultaneously, for fast and secure delivery. APIs are also available for both trading and settlement.

Are there any additional fees or charges to use Gemini eOTC?
Currently, there are no additional fees to trade with eOTC nor to settle with Gemini’s OTC Trading Team.

How do I get started?

If you do not yet have an institutional account with Gemini, you can open one here.  If you are already an institutional client, contact us to get started provisioning your account for eOTC access.

Do I need to set up accounts with eOTC’s liquidity providers?
No. Gemini will serve as the single counterparty for all eOTC trades and settlement.

Is there a minimum trade size?
The minimum trade size is $1,000 notional value per order.

How do I access eOTC?
Once approved for eOTC trading, eOTC can be accessed via FIX API or by clicking on the eOTC tab within your Gemini account.

Is there an API?
There is a FIX API available for eOTC trading. There is also a REST API for settlement. For more information on both of these APIs, please contact us.

Are there any geographic restrictions?
Gemini eOTC is currently available in 70 jurisdictions including the US (available in all states excluding New York), UK, Ireland and Singapore. Click here to see if Gemini is available in your country.
What order types are available?
The following order types are available on eOTC:

• Market
• Limit-FOK
• Limit-GTC
• Limit-GTD
• Stop Market-GTC
• Stop Market-GTD
• Stop Limit-GTC
• Stop Limit-GTD
• Market TWAP
• Limit TWAP

What is the difference between FOK, GTC and GTD?
FOK, GTC and GTD are all time-in-force (TIF) attributes which determine how long the order will remain active before it expires and cancels.

• FOK - Fill-or-Kill (FOK) means that the order must fully fill the entire requested quantity immediately or the entire order is canceled.  With FOK, there are no partial fills.
• GTC - Good till Cancel (GTC) means that the order will stay open indefinitely until either the order is filled or canceled by the user.
• GTD - Good till Date (GTD) means that the order will stay open until the specified date or the order is filled or canceled by the user.  In eOTC, GTD orders cancel at 23:59:59 UTC on the specified expiration date.

How often does TWAP execute intervals?
The TWAP interval frequency depends on the specified duration of the order. Longer duration TWAPs execute less frequently (i.e. longer intervals) than shorter duration TWAPs.

This schedule is subject to a minimum of 10 intervals, such that a 10 minute TWAP will have 1 minute intervals.

* Note that the actual interval length will not be exactly 5, 10 or 20 as a timing jitter is applied.

After your trade is complete, what happens next?
With delayed settlement, the trade itself does not represent the actual exchange of funds but rather an obligation by both sides to do so later at the executed price. At a predetermined time arranged with Gemini’s Trading Team, all unsettled trade obligations will be consolidated into a single net settlement ticket. Settlement is accessible from the menu bar or here. Once settlement accounts are fully funded on both sides, owed assets from both parties will transfer simultaneously and the settlement will complete. After the settlement completes, available trading credit will be replenished.

How do I place an order on the eOTC application?

1. In the Execution section, click on the large box labeled “+ Order Tile”. 
2. Select the instrument you want to trade from the “Instrument” dropdown in the top left of the tile.
3. Click the Quantity box to the right and enter the quantity you want to trade. e.g. If the instrument is BTC/USD and the quantity is 5, a trade would be for 5 BTC.  Press Enter (or click away) to begin streaming prices.
4. Select order type from the Order Type dropdown just below the streaming prices.
5. Depending on the order type selected, there may be additional parameters required (e.g. limit price).  Complete the specification of these parameters which will appear to the right of the Order Type dropdown.

1. In the eOTC settings menu, represented by 3 dots in the top right of the eOTC trading screen, you can select whether to execute using either 1 or 2 clicks.  “2-click execution” is the default.

1. If your account is set to the default “2-click execution” trade setting, click the BUY or SELL button once to arm it and click a second time to place the order.  Note: you must click the buy or sell button twice to place your order.
2. If you have changed your trade setting to “1-click execution”, hovering over the BUY or SELL button will arm it and clicking it once will place the order.

*Gemini eOTC is not available to New York residents. Gemini eOTC is offered through an affiliate of Gemini Trust Company, LLC (GTC), Gemini NuSTAR, LLC.