CFTC Files to Vacate $5 Million Settlement with Gemini

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and lawyers for the Winklevoss brothers' cryptocurrency exchange Gemini filed a joint application with the New York federal court on Wednesday night, requesting to vacate the January 2025 consent order. The consent order previously required Gemini to pay a $5 million penalty and accept a permanent injunction and other remedial measures. If the application is approved, the already paid $5 million penalty will be refunded.

The CFTC stated in its declaration that after a comprehensive review of Gemini's investigation history, evidence, prosecution decisions, and litigation strategy, it determined that "the complaint should not have been filed, and would not have been filed under current enforcement standards," and that continuing to enforce certain provisions of the settlement agreement "does not serve the mission of the CFTC nor the public interest."

This marks the latest instance of the Trump administration's systematic dismantling of cryptocurrency regulatory actions during the Biden era. Previously, cryptocurrency executives who pleaded guilty, such as Zhao Changpeng and Arthur Hayes, have been pardoned by Trump, and multiple regulatory lawsuits against the cryptocurrency industry have been successively withdrawn. Trump himself posted on Truth Social on Wednesday, claiming that he saved the cryptocurrency industry from the hands of the "anti-crypto army."

The political connections behind Gemini are also noteworthy. The Winklevoss brothers are significant supporters of Trump, and Bloomberg News reported that Tyler Winklevoss was involved in blocking the confirmation of Trump's first CFTC Chairman nominee, Brian Quintenz. Trump then nominated attorney Michael Selig for the position.