The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has made an unusual request to a judge, seeking to vacate a $5 million penalty previously imposed on Gemini Trust Company, a cryptocurrency exchange founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The move comes amid a significant shift in the CFTC’s crypto enforcement policy under Donald Trump and follows substantial donations from the Winklevoss brothers to his 2024 election campaign.
The CFTC had initially accused Gemini of making false statements related to its bitcoin futures business. Gemini settled these charges in January 2025, during the final weeks of Joe Biden’s administration, agreeing to a $5 million penalty and an injunction barring future misleading statements to the CFTC.
However, in a joint court filing, both Gemini and the CFTC now contend that the settlement should be rescinded. They assert that the CFTC, under the Biden administration, “resorted to inappropriate tactics” to initiate the lawsuit and “extract a settlement from Gemini.” The filing claims the agency pursued the case based on a non-credible whistleblower account, and that Gemini was, in fact, the victim of fraud perpetrated by its former chief operating officer and two customers who received fraudulent rebates.
Instead of investigating the fraud against Gemini, the CFTC allegedly focused its inquiry on Gemini’s statements about the integrity of its bitcoin futures trading. The court papers further allege that regulators inappropriately leveraged their power during the pending case by indicating that Gemini would not receive approval for its new prediction market platform, Gemini Titan, while the enforcement action was active. Gemini Titan eventually received approval in December 2025.
The Winklevoss brothers each contributed $1 million in bitcoin to Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign. This connection gained further attention when Trump’s initial pick to lead the CFTC, Brian Quintenz, accused Tyler Winklevoss of lobbying the White House to stall his nomination due to the CFTC lawsuit. Trump subsequently withdrew Quintenz’s nomination, appointing Michael Selig as the new CFTC chair.
It remains unclear from the court filing whether Gemini will be refunded the $5 million penalty, which has already been paid. Gemini did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Winklevoss twins first rose to public prominence after suing Mark Zuckerberg, alleging he stole their idea for Facebook, a case they settled in 2008 for cash and stock.
