SEC and Gemini Request Court Extension for Dispute Resolution

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and cryptocurrency exchange Gemini have submitted a joint letter requesting a 60-day extension to explore a potential settlement of their legal dispute.

In their motion, the parties asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to “postpone all deadlines” related to the lawsuit filed by the regulator in January 2023.

The SEC’s complaint alleged that the platform sold unregistered securities through the Gemini Earn lending program. The product offered investors returns of up to 8% per annum on cryptocurrency deposits.

In mid-November 2022, the exchange suspended payments under the program. This occurred amidst financial difficulties faced by its main partner, the OTC platform Genesis Global Capital. The firm owed Gemini’s clients $900 million.

In February 2024, the exchange committed to returning $1.1 billion to Earn users as part of a settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services. Later, the platform announced it would reimburse 100% of client assets in the program amounting to $2.18 billion.

At the end of February 2025, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss announced the SEC’s decision to cease its investigation into the exchange.

On Monday, the SEC informed our litigation counsel @JackBaughman27 that it has closed its investigation into @Gemini and will not be pursuing an enforcement action against us. This comes 699 days after the start of their investigation and 277 days after they sent us a Wells… pic.twitter.com/dTjg9CJXVl

— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) February 26, 2025

Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump’s administration, the Commission refrained from enforcement actions against several industry companies. These include: Coinbase, Robinhood, Ripple, ConsenSys, Uniswap, and others.

As reported, amid the resolution of its legal issues, Gemini is considering the possibility of conducting an IPO by the end of the year, according to media reports.