TechFlow news — On January 7, according to Bloomberg, Gemini Trust Co., the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The lawsuit alleged that Gemini misled derivatives regulators when attempting to launch the first U.S.-regulated bitcoin futures contract. Court filings disclosed on Monday revealed the settlement, avoiding a trial originally scheduled to begin on January 21—the day after Donald Trump’s second inauguration as U.S. president. In this case, Gemini neither admitted nor denied liability.
In 2022, the CFTC filed suit against Gemini in Manhattan federal court, accusing the exchange of making "false and misleading statements regarding how it would prevent manipulation of bitcoin prices." On Monday, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein approved the settlement. Last November, Judge Hellerstein rejected Gemini’s motion, ruling that a jury must determine whether 32 statements made by Gemini executives to regulators were misleading.
Gemini still faces a separate lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleges that the exchange and crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital illegally raised billions of dollars in digital assets from investors through the so-called Gemini Earn program. In February, Gemini agreed to return at least $1.1 billion to customers as part of another settlement with New York regulators.
