Executive Summary
The Story So Far
Why This Matters
Who Thinks What?
Gemini, the publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange, has expanded its credit card offerings with the introduction of a new Solana (SOL) Credit Card, enabling users to earn instant SOL rewards on purchases. The card features an optional auto-staking mechanism, allowing cardholders to automatically stake their earned SOL for an annual percentage yield (APY) of up to 6.77%.
Card Features and Rewards
The Solana Card operates similarly to Gemini’s existing Bitcoin and XRP credit cards, offering category-based rewards. Users can earn up to 4% back on gas, electric vehicle charging, and rideshare services, 3% on dining, 2% on groceries, and 1% on all other purchases, paid out instantly in SOL.
A key differentiator for the Solana card, and a new feature available to all existing and future Gemini cardholders, is the auto-staking option. This allows earned SOL to be automatically staked, with the flexibility to unstake tokens at any time, though withdrawal times can vary from a few hours to several days.
Solana’s Market Context and Gemini’s Rationale
Gemini stated that the launch of a Solana edition was a “logical choice” given Solana’s momentum and its active developer community, positioning it as a top ecosystem. The firm highlighted Solana’s reward performance, noting that users who chose SOL as their reward token and held it for at least one year have seen approximately 300% appreciation, based on data extending back to 2021.
Solana’s price history has been volatile, trading below $10 in early 2021 before surging above $250 later that year. It then dropped to around $8 in late 2022 following the FTX exchange collapse, but has since rebounded, reaching a new high of $293 earlier this year.
Gemini’s Recent Performance
The introduction of the Solana card follows Gemini’s initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Exchange earlier this year, where shares were offered at $28, raising over $425 million. Despite the successful IPO, Gemini’s shares closed recently at $19.68, reflecting a nearly 20% decline over the previous month.
