TL;DR: A federal judge has rejected a joint attempt by Gemini and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to overturn the exchange’s $5 million settlement. The decision leaves the existing judgment in place despite the regulator’s changed approach to cryptocurrency enforcement.
Gemini has failed in an unusual attempt to undo a regulatory settlement, despite having the very agency that brought the original case on its side.
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected a joint motion by the exchange and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission seeking to vacate a consent judgment entered in January 2025.
The settlement arose from allegations that Gemini misled the regulator during its review of a proposed Bitcoin futures product in 2017. Gemini agreed to pay a $5 million penalty and accepted a permanent injunction.
When Regulators Change Their Minds
The CFTC subsequently reconsidered the original enforcement case as its digital asset priorities evolved. Together with Gemini, it asked the court to revisit the settlement.
That is a very different situation from the more familiar legal battle in which an exchange disputes a regulator’s allegations. This time, both parties wanted relief from the court’s earlier judgment.
But a change in enforcement policy does not automatically erase a final court order. The judge found that the arguments presented did not satisfy the legal standards for reopening the settlement.
The decision is significant for other cryptocurrency businesses hoping that a more accommodating federal regulatory environment might undo historical enforcement outcomes.
What Changes For Gemini?
In the immediate term, very little. The settlement remains in effect and the court has not imposed a new fine.
The wider message is more important: courts retain control of their judgments, even when a regulatory agency changes its view of a case.
Washington’s approach to cryptocurrency may have become more favourable, but companies cannot assume that previously approved settlements will disappear alongside the political circumstances in which they were reached.
Written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.