Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has filed a legal complaint against the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), claiming that the agency has spent years making false accusations.
Gemini Accuses CFTC of Years of False Accusations
In the filing, Gemini claims that the CFTC has spent years making false accusations against the crypto platform while ignoring real problems in the digital asset world. The complaint says the regulator used unreliable testimony from a former employee who is no longer credible and has not shown any proof of intentional wrongdoing after seven years of investigation.
Gemini’s Regulatory Hurdles: A Case of Misrepresentation?
The controversy dates back to 2017 when the brainchild of the Winklevoss twins submitted proposals to the CFTC to launch futures contracts for Bitcoin (BTC). The CFTC alleged that the exchange misrepresented critical safeguards to prevent price manipulation. These safeguards were supposed to form the backbone of a trusted financial product, yet the regulator argued Gemini fell short of expectations. Fast-forward to January 2025. Weeks before a trial was set to unravel in Manhattan federal court, Gemini and the CFTC struck a deal. Gemini agreed to pay $5 million to settle the claims, neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing.
SEC Sues Gemini for Earn Program
Recall that the Winklevoss brothers’ crypto exchange was under intense scrutiny a few years ago. The scrutiny concerned their Earn Program, which ordinarily allowed users to earn interest on their assets. All they had to do was lend the crypto assets to Genesis Global Capital, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG). However, the program turned negative when FTX imploded in 2022, and Gemini Earn users could not access their funds. It got worse when the US SEC sued both Gemini and Genesis, citing that Gemini Earn was an unregistered offering of securities. On the progress of the Earn Program, the exchange has paid out a $50 million settlement to compensate the investors.
Gemini's lawsuit against the CFTC underscores the growing frustration among crypto companies regarding the application of rules and raises questions about the future of regulation in the digital asset space.
