The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has asked a federal judge to set aside a prior court order tied to a settlement with Gemini Trust Company, the cryptocurrency exchange established by twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The filing seeks to vacate a settlement reached in January 2025 that included a $5 million penalty and an injunction barring Gemini from making false or misleading statements to the CFTC.
Settlement rescinded but penalty remains paid
In joint court papers, the CFTC and Gemini said they agreed the earlier settlement should be rescinded. The agency acknowledged it should never have alleged that Gemini made false statements in connection with its bitcoin futures business. The parties also made clear that Gemini would not be entitled to a refund of the $5 million paid under the January 2025 settlement.
Allegations about how the case originated
The joint filing contends the enforcement action originated from a whistleblower account that the parties now say was not credible. In their filing, the CFTC and Gemini stated that regulators, operating under the prior administration, pursued a lawsuit based on that account rather than first investigating an alleged fraud targeting Gemini. The documents assert that Gemini itself was a victim of fraud involving the company’s former chief operating officer and two customers who allegedly received fraudulent rebates from Gemini.
Accusations of improper tactics and regulatory leverage
The joint filing accuses the CFTC of having "resorted to inappropriate tactics" in bringing the lawsuit and in extracting the settlement from Gemini. While the action was pending, the filing says regulators used their position to inform Gemini that approval for a new prediction market product would be withheld while enforcement proceedings remained unresolved. That approval was later granted in December 2025 for Gemini’s prediction market product, Gemini Titan.
Political and personnel context
The parties linked their request to vacate the settlement to a shift in the CFTC’s crypto enforcement policy under the Trump administration. The filing and surrounding reporting note that Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss each donated $1 million in bitcoin to Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign. The matter also intersected with personnel developments at the agency. President Trump initially nominated Brian Quintenz to lead the CFTC; Quintenz accused Tyler Winklevoss last year of lobbying the White House to slow that nomination because of the lawsuit. The nomination was withdrawn and Michael Selig was later named as the CFTC’s new chair.
Case history and immediate effects
Gemini settled the CFTC charges in January 2025 during the final weeks of the Biden administration, agreeing to pay $5 million and accept an injunction meant to prevent false or misleading statements to the regulator. The recent joint filing asks that the court vacate that settlement, while clarifying that the penalty payment will not be refunded. The filing also suggests that the agency’s enforcement posture and investigative choices under the prior administration warrant re-examination of that settlement.
What remains uncertain
The court will need to consider the joint request to vacate the prior order and decide whether rescission is appropriate given the parties’ statements about how the matter unfolded. The filing raises questions about the initial basis for the enforcement action, the credibility of the whistleblower account cited in the original case, and whether regulatory influence was used to affect Gemini’s commercial approvals during the pendency of the enforcement action.
This article presents the filings and claims as stated by the CFTC and Gemini in their joint court documents. It does not add or infer outcomes beyond those described in those filings.