CFTC Admits Error in Lawsuit Against Gemini

CFTC seeks to annul settlement with Gemini in 2022 case.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approached the federal court of the Southern District of New York to request the annulment of a settlement with the crypto exchange Gemini regarding a 2022 case. The regulator acknowledged the lawsuit’s lack of merit.

The CFTC stated that the methods of the agency’s previous leadership were “inappropriate.”

The matter concerns the settlement of a dispute in January 2025, when Gemini agreed to pay a $5 million fine to close claims related to providing inaccurate information during the launch of Bitcoin futures in 2017.

In a joint memorandum, the CFTC and Gemini questioned the validity of the investigation. According to the document, after an internal review, the agency concluded that under current enforcement standards, the case would not have existed.

The regulator listed several violations:

• unreliable informant;
• concealment of part of the evidence from one of the commissioners before voting on the lawsuit;
• lack of critically important evidence of the exchange’s guilt;
• use of supervisory powers as a leverage tool.

The commission determined that Gemini itself was a victim of fraud. The parties are asking the court to annul the remaining prohibitions and obligations.

In January 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew its lawsuit against Gemini.

In March, the Federal Court of the Southern District of New York dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Uniswap and its founder Hayden Adams. The proceedings had been ongoing since 2022.