PANews reported on January 7 that Gemini Trust Co., a crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, agreed to pay $5 million to end a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The lawsuit claimed that Gemini misled derivatives regulators when it tried to launch the first U.S.-regulated Bitcoin futures contract. The settlement was disclosed in documents signed by both parties on Monday, avoiding a trial originally scheduled to begin on January 21, the day after Trump took office as U.S. President for the second time. Gemini neither admitted nor denied liability in the case.
In 2022, the CFTC filed a lawsuit against Gemini in Manhattan federal court, alleging that the exchange "made false and misleading statements about how to prevent Bitcoin price manipulation." On Monday, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein approved the settlement. Last November, Judge Hellerstein rejected Gemini's request, ruling that a jury must determine whether 32 statements made by Gemini executives to regulators were misleading.
Gemini still faces a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that alleges the exchange and crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital illegally raised billions of dollars in crypto 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.