CFTC Seeks To Vacate Gemini’s $5 Million Settlement After June 2022 Case

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission moved to vacate a $5 million settlement with crypto exchange Gemini, seeking relief from a judgment in a case first filed in June 2022 and settled in January 2025.

“The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is now trying to undo one of its own crypto enforcement cases”

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In a Wednesday motion filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the CFTC joined Gemini Trust Company in arguing the complaint should not have been filed under current enforcement standards.

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Tim Massad, a former CFTC chair and research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, said, "[T]he CFTC’s action in reversing itself on a settled case is extraordinarily unusual," and added that the explanation appears to be that staff got it wrong rather than the law being unclear.

The CFTC’s motion said it sought relief after concluding a whistleblower was "not to be credible" and that evidence was concealed by the commission’s previous leadership, while also alleging Gemini’s former chief operating officer made false statements tied to Gemini’s Bitcoin futures pre-certification review.

The reversal has also been framed alongside political ties to the Trump administration, with Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss each donating $1 million to Trump’s 2024 election campaign.

Cointelegraph reported that a text chain made public in September 2025 by former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz showed Tyler Winklevoss raising the CFTC’s litigation as Quintenz was set to be considered for Trump’s nomination to head the agency.

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In that same reporting, the motion language was described as echoing private communications, including references to "abuse" of regulatory authority and "false whistleblower."

The CFTC and Gemini asked the court to vacate the January 2025 consent order, and the filing said the CFTC completed “a comprehensive review of the evidence and charging decision” and concluded “that the Complaint would not have been filed under the agency’s current standards.”

Beyond the $5 million civil penalty, the joint motion seeks to remove continuing restrictions, with the CFTC and Gemini asking a judge to vacate remaining prospective parts of the settlement, mainly the permanent injunction still attached to the case.

“The CFTC has warned regulated derivatives platforms that round-the-clock trading may suit crypto-native markets but may not work safely across every traditional asset class”

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The CFTC said continuing enforcement of the consent order’s prospective provisions serves neither the CFTC’s mission nor the public interest, and it also stated that the monetary penalty has already been paid and satisfied.

However, it remains unclear whether Gemini could recover the $5 million penalty if the court grants the motion, according to the reporting that noted the joint filing did not specify whether the penalty would be refunded.

Separately, the CFTC’s broader policy posture also appears in the same news cycle, with a Friday advisory warning that 24/7 trading may not suit every traditional derivatives market and urging exchanges and clearinghouses to discuss major changes to trading schedules with the agency before extending trading and clearing to a 24/7 model.