CFTC moves to vacate Gemini's $5M futures settlement and scraps its own 'no-deny' rule, deepening crypto-enforcement retreat

The CFTC filed a joint motion with Gemini in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, reported May 27-28, 2026, asking the court to vacate the agency's $5 million settlement with the crypto exchange. Gemini had paid the penalty in January 2025 to resolve a 2022 enforcement action alleging the company made false or misleading statements during the CFTC's review of a proposed Bitcoin futures contract.

The CFTC stated it had concluded the complaint 'should not have been filed — and would not have been under current enforcement standards.' Reporting indicates the agency now views parts of its original case as resting on a whistleblower account it considers lacking in credibility, and reframed Gemini partly as a victim, citing customers who allegedly exploited preferential fee structures in a coordinated rebate-fraud scheme. The motion seeks to wipe away the settlement and lift remaining restrictions. Separately, the CFTC eliminated its 28-year-old 'no-deny' settlement rule (adopted 1998), with Chairman Michael Selig saying the agency was moving 'consistent with regulators throughout the government' and describing the Gemini matter as 'politically targeted'; the step mirrors the SEC's rescission of its own no-deny policy earlier in May.

Gemini's founders, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, have had a high public profile with the current administration. Observers cast the developments as a marked shift toward a more industry-friendly enforcement posture across both the CFTC and SEC.