U.S. CFTC files request to erase Gemini settlement that it no longer considers fair

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission wants to tear up the remnants of an old dispute with crypto exchange Gemini, with the agency insisting that its own staff's assertions about Gemini making misleading statements weren't handled properly.

The CFTC filed a request alongside Gemini in federal court to negate a settlement secured at the start of last year, with the current agency essentially disputing the conclusions of the previous agency. After a review of the case, the CFTC "concluded the complaint should not have been filed — and would not have been under current enforcement standards," it said in a Wednesday statement.

In January of 2025, Gemini agreed to resolve an enforcement action with a $5 million fine and other requirements, settling a matter that began in 2017. In meetings with the CFTC back then, its staff had determined that Gemini allegedly made false statements about the relative difficulty of manipulating bitcoin futures contracts and the regulator pursued an enforcement action in 2022.

If the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York grants the request to cancel the settlement and toss the case, the remainder of Gemini's requirements under the agreement will be nullified — including its injunction preventing the company from making false or misleading statements to the commission in the future.

The CFTC has dramatically reversed its previous relationship with the crypto industry since the arrival of the administration of President Donald Trump just days after the Gemini settlement, and the subsequent appointment of CFTC Chairman Mike Selig, who has embraced digital assets as one of his top policy goals.

Trump has also sought to champion the industry, including specifically welcoming Gemini's founders, the Winklevoss brothers, to White House events.

The president's previous nominee to run the CFTC, former Commissioner Brian Quintenz, said last year in posts on X (formerly Twitter) that the Winklevoss brothers had asked him to review the settlement and suggested they were unhappy that he refused to commit to anything further than a review of the case. Trump withdrew his nomination just under three weeks later.

The president's pro-crypto agenda was on display Wednesday in a posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, where he said, "The new Frontier of Finance is being Built in America, and 'TRUMP' will NEVER let Crypto down!"