Crypto exchange Gemini has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a case with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission over allegedly misleading statements it made more than seven years ago about how easily the price of a Bitcoin futures contract could be manipulated.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss’ trade settled without admitting or denying liability, according to a letter from CFTC attorney K. Brent Tomer. A the trial was scheduled to begin on January 21but this will no longer continue.
The CFTC sued Gemini in 2022, alleging it misled the U.S. regulator during in-person meetings that took place in 2017.
Part of the agreement also included an injunction to prevent Gemini from making false or misleading statements to the commission in the future. These types of injunctions are common in settlements or lawsuits brought by federal securities and commodities regulators.
Gemini is also facing another case with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A judge ruled in March that the SEC could sue the exchange for violating securities laws.
In the absence of legislation relating specifically to the crypto sector, US regulators have sued a number of crypto exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance, for violating securities laws..
Many observers have said that pro-crypto comments made by President-elect Donald Trump indicate that he will appoint regulators with a less confrontational attitude toward the industry and a reduction in so-called regulation by enforcement.
