Gemini Moves to Miami as Velora Reinvents DeFi Trading

Two notable developments in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space signal ongoing efforts by major crypto platforms to adapt and grow amid changing regulatory and technological landscapes. Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is expanding to Miami as a key SEC enforcement case against the firm sees signs of resolution. Meanwhile, decentralized exchange aggregator ParaSwap has rebranded to Velora, launching a protocol upgrade aimed at enhancing user control and minimizing MEV-related risks in DeFi trading.

Gemini Expands to Miami as SEC Lawsuit Nears Resolution

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is setting up shop in Miami’s trendy Wynwood Art District — a move that comes as the firm appears to be putting major regulatory headwinds behind it. 

The expansion into South Florida may mark the start of a new chapter for the exchange, which has navigated intense scrutiny from US regulators over the past few years.

Sterling Bay Properties post (Source: Instagram)

According to a March 31 announcement from real estate developer Sterling Bay Properties, Gemini has officially signed a lease for office space in Wynwood. 

Bloomberg reported that the company expects to take occupancy by May, placing the New York-based exchange among a growing list of crypto firms planting roots in Florida. While Gemini has yet to issue a formal statement on the move, the strategic decision comes at a time when the company’s regulatory battles appear to be de-escalating.

A Legal Cloud Begins to Clear

Gemini’s Miami expansion follows a significant development in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ongoing lawsuit against the company. In January 2023, the SEC accused Gemini of offering unregistered securities through its now-defunct Gemini Earn program — a yield-bearing service that was popular among retail crypto investors before being abruptly shuttered during the 2022 crypto winter.

However, in a recent court order, a federal judge granted a 60-day stay on the case, offering both parties time to “explore a potential resolution.” This pause may indicate that the long-standing legal dispute could soon reach a settlement or be dropped altogether. 

The news comes as a welcome shift for Gemini, which has struggled to grow amid an uncertain regulatory landscape.

Adding to this narrative, Cameron Winklevoss revealed in February that the SEC had closed a separate investigation into the company. Earlier this year, Gemini also agreed to pay a $5 million fine to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) related to alleged misrepresentations during a 2017 application to offer Bitcoin futures contracts. The settlement removed another legal hurdle from Gemini’s path.

The Miami office move is more than a geographical pivot — it signals Gemini’s intent to reaccelerate growth in the United States and potentially reenter public markets. 

In early 2025, the firm reportedly filed confidential paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO), reviving ambitions it had explored as early as 2021. Though details remain scarce, the IPO filing suggests that Gemini is preparing for a new phase of transparency, expansion, and investor engagement.

Should the SEC lawsuit reach a favorable conclusion, Gemini would be in a stronger position to attract institutional partnerships, scale its products, and compete more directly with rivals like Coinbase and Kraken, both of which have been actively expanding their US and global footprints.

Why Miami?

Miami's appeal to crypto firms has only grown in recent years. The city offers a unique mix of tax incentives, tech talent, and cultural vibrancy — especially in Wynwood, known for its murals, galleries, and burgeoning tech community. 

Florida's lack of a state income tax makes it especially attractive for both companies and high-net-worth individuals seeking to relocate operations or headquarters.

Ripple Labs already maintains an office in Wynwood, while Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners, is based in nearby Fort Lauderdale. The presence of these major players may have helped influence Gemini’s decision to choose the area as its new U.S. base of operations outside of New York.

The move also aligns with broader trends in the industry. With regulatory uncertainty in states like New York and California, crypto companies are increasingly looking to regions with more favorable or clear-cut frameworks for digital assets.

ParaSwap Rebrands to Velora as It Pushes Into the Future of Intents-Based DeFi Trading

Gemini is not the only company making moves. ParaSwap, the prominent decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, has officially rebranded to Velora, marking a significant transformation not only in name but also in function. 

Alongside the rebrand, Velora unveiled the latest version of its protocol — Delta v2.5 — designed to further the platform’s vision of “intents-based trading” and deliver a more customizable, efficient, and fair trading experience.

The rebranding and protocol upgrade signal a deepening commitment to tackling one of DeFi’s most persistent challenges: Maximum Extractable Value (MEV). 

As bots continue to exploit transaction ordering for profit at the expense of users, Velora is doubling down on technical innovations meant to neutralize these exploitative dynamics.

From ParaSwap to Velora: A New Chapter in DeFi

Velora's new name and direction reflect a broader shift in the DEX aggregator’s mission. Since launching intents-based trading in mid-2024, the platform has focused on transforming how decentralized trades are executed. 

The Delta v2.5 upgrade builds on that by enhancing trade flexibility, unlocking advanced tools like limit orders, and making way for cross-chain execution — a key demand in today's multi-chain DeFi environment.

Over the past year, ParaSwap (now Velora) saw over 4.3 million smart contract interactions and drew approximately 18,000 monthly active users, according to data from TokenTerminal. 

Paraswap daily active users (Source: TokenTerminal)

This active engagement reflects strong interest in alternatives to traditional execution models, especially among users seeking deeper control over trades and better protection from predatory behavior on-chain.

At the heart of Velora’s transformation is its unique approach to combatting MEV — a challenge that has long undermined fairness and transparency in decentralized markets.

MEV bots typically front-run transactions, reorder trades for profit, or perform arbitrage in ways that extract value from regular users. The consequence isn’t just individual transaction losses — it’s a systemic erosion of trust in decentralized finance, according to Velora founder Mounir Benchemled.

Velora’s response is an intent-based architecture that breaks down each order into three stages:

1. Preprocessing the intent — defining what the user wants, including expected price and execution preferences.

2. Submitting to an auction layer — where competing execution agents determine the most optimal path for the trade across liquidity pools, timing windows, and block constraints.

3. Execution by the winning agent — chosen based on efficiency and MEV protection capabilities.

This system is designed not only to neutralize malicious bots but also to abstract execution complexity away from users, allowing them to interact with DeFi in a more intuitive and safer manner.

A Better UX for DeFi’s Next Wave

Velora’s implementation of intents-based execution comes amid a broader DeFi trend toward user experience simplification. Despite DeFi’s explosive growth, many new users remain intimidated by the technical complexity of smart contracts, gas optimization, and transaction finality.

In an interview, Sergej Kunz, co-founder of rival DEX aggregator 1inch, endorsed the broader movement toward intent-based systems:

“An intent-based system is designed to shift all risk and complexity away from users and into the hands of professionals who specialize in executing advanced DeFi strategies,” Kunz said. “A true intent-based DEX must provide MEV protection at the protocol level and offload execution complexity to professional trading bots.”

This philosophy underpins Velora’s Delta v2.5 upgrade, which promises to give users greater control over their trades without requiring them to navigate the nuances of block timing, gas fees, or routing logic. Features like limit orders and multi-block execution further expand the possibilities for strategic trading on-chain.

The Velora rebrand and upgrade come at a pivotal time. With DeFi once again gaining momentum amid renewed institutional interest and rising crypto prices, users are demanding more from decentralized platforms — not just in terms of yields or trading pairs, but in security, fairness, and usability.

Velora is positioning itself as a key player in this next wave of innovation, building on ParaSwap’s legacy while venturing into the frontier of intent-driven finance. If successful, it could usher in a more user-friendly and equitable DeFi experience — one where human intent drives market logic, not just bots and algorithms.