Gemini Exchange has jointly filed a request with the SEC for a 60-day pause in court proceedings to negotiate a potential settlement over the Gemini Earn program.
Request for Mediation Between SEC and Gemini
On April 1, 2025, Gemini filed a joint request with the SEC seeking a 60-day pause in court hearings to allow both parties to negotiate a potential settlement outside the courtroom. The case, initiated under President Biden’s administration, focused on Gemini’s Earn program, which allowed customers to lend their crypto assets to Gemini for attractive returns. The SEC labeled this as unregistered securities activity. Now, under the Trump administration, the SEC appears more open to resolving such disputes through mediation.
Deregulation Measures Under Trump Administration
Earlier this month, the SEC issued a notice reclassifying memecoins as non-securities due to their lack of real-world utility. As a result, these tokens will now be treated similarly to collectibles, like baseball cards, subject to less regulation and lower taxation. In the XRP case, the Southern District of New York mandated that XRP be delisted as a security, leading to Ripple agreeing to a $125 million penalty and a subsequent $50 million settlement.
Ongoing Investigations Nearing Resolution
Ongoing investigations like that of Cumberland DRW, accused of conducting over $2 billion in unregistered crypto trades without a broker-dealer license, are also nearing resolution. Cumberland has stated that an agreement has been reached, though an official SEC statement is still awaited. Furthermore, Kraken, charged in November 2023 for selling unregistered securities, reported a no-penalty agreement with the SEC in March 2025, pending an official clearance notice.
With the resolution of these high-profile cases, the Trump-era SEC appears to be systematically unwinding the stringent policies set during Gary Gensler’s tenure. Should all pending cases reach similar resolutions, it would represent a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for U.S.-based crypto firms.
