CFTC acknowledges that it should not sue Gemini and jointly requests the court to withdraw the consent order

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on Tuesday that it has jointly filed a motion with Gemini Trust Company LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, requesting the dismissal of a previous judgment against Gemini.

The case was originally filed in June 2022, and the parties reached a consent order in January 2025. After a comprehensive review, the CFTC concluded that the lawsuit should not have been filed and would not be filed under current enforcement standards.

The review identified six major issues: the complaint was primarily based on statements from a whistleblower of questionable credibility; the investigation targeted Gemini as a victim of fraud rather than the alleged fraudster; there were serious doubts about the strength of the evidence against Gemini; relevant supporting materials were concealed and not submitted to the commissioners during the CFTC's vote on the complaint; the litigation team invoked deliberative process privilege to prevent Gemini from obtaining evidence necessary for its defense; and personnel improperly used CFTC regulatory power to create leverage for settlement.

The CFTC determined that continuing to enforce the forward-looking provisions of the consent order is neither consistent with its mission nor in the public interest, and that the non-forward-looking provisions of the consent order (such as civil penalties) have been fulfilled. The parties jointly request the court to vacate the remaining forward-looking provisions.