Gemini, CFTC lose bid to cancel $5 million penalty

A U.S. federal judge has rejected an October 15 request by cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to cancel their $5 million settlement, leaving the previously paid penalty and permanent injunction in place. Summary A federal judge rejected Gemini and CFTC’s joint request to overturn their $5 million settlement agreement. Gemini paid the $5 million penalty before both parties requested relief from the existing judgment. Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that alleged enforcement misconduct did not justify overturning Gemini’s previous settlement agreement. The CFTC concluded its original Gemini lawsuit would not meet the agency’s current enforcement standards. Gemini remains subject to a permanent injunction barring false or misleading statements to the federal regulator. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who oversees the Gemini enforcement case in New York, ruled that neither the regulator’s allegations of improper enforcement conduct nor changes in federal cryptocurrency policy justified overturning the January 2025 agreement. The decision followed a joint motion filed in May after the CFTC reviewed its original investigation and ...