Gemini Trust Company has agreed to a $5 million civil penalty to settle charges brought by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The charges stem from allegations that Gemini provided false or misleading information during its 2017 efforts to launch a Bitcoin futures contract.
The proposed consent order, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, includes a permanent injunction preventing Gemini from making false or misleading statements to the CFTC. If approved by a judge, this settlement would resolve all outstanding claims against the crypto firm, allowing it to avoid a civil trial previously scheduled for January 21, 2025.
The CFTC’s 2022 complaint accused Gemini of omitting critical information and providing inaccurate statements during the evaluation of its proposed Bitcoin futures product in 2017. As part of the settlement, Gemini has neither admitted nor denied the findings but acknowledges that it reasonably should have known about the inaccuracies in its statements.
This settlement is part of the CFTC’s broader efforts to enforce compliance within the cryptocurrency industry. In the 2024 fiscal year, the commission reported recovering over $17 billion in civil monetary penalties, disgorgement, and restitution from various cases, including those involving crypto firms.
