Gemini · New York · Bitcoin · Decrypt
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A federal judge has refused to let the Winklevoss twins’ crypto exchange Gemini walk back a $5 million settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, even though the regulator itself had joined the exchange in asking him to toss it out.
Key facts
- In a ruling issued Oct. 15, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York denied the unusual joint motion to vacate a consent order Gemini agreed to in January 2025
- A federal judge has refused to let the Winklevoss twins’ crypto exchange Gemini walk back a $5 million settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, even though the regulator itself
- Gemini has already paid the $5 million penalty, and the parties previously said it would not be refunded even if the motion succeeded, so the money stays with the government
- The dispute dates to 2022, when the CFTC charged Gemini with making false or misleading statements to the agency in connection with a proposed Bitcoin futures product
Summary
A federal judge denied a rare joint motion from Gemini and the CFTC to vacate the $5 million settlement the exchange agreed to in January 2025. The ruling keeps a permanent injunction barring Gemini from making false statements to the CFTC; the exchange already paid the $5 million, which won’t be refunded. It’s a rare case of a court holding firm as a regulator retreats from its own case, amid the CFTC’s broader pro-crypto shift. In a ruling issued Oct. 15, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York denied the unusual joint motion to vacate a consent order Gemini agreed to in January 2025.