The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Gemini Trust Company are now jointly asking a federal court to unwind key parts of a 2025 consent order tied to a yearslong enforcement fight over Bitcoin futures products.
A filing submitted Wednesday (May 27) in the Southern District of New York represents a striking reversal for the agency. The CFTC now says the original case against Gemini never should have moved forward under current enforcement standards for digital asset matters.
“Following President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order,” the filing states, “multiple U.S. agencies implemented a host of changes, including modifying enforcement approaches and standards for cases involving digital assets.”
The agency said it later completed “a comprehensive review of the evidence and charging decision” and concluded “that the Complaint would not have been filed under the agency’s current standards.” The filing also says enforcement staff “resorted to inappropriate tactics in order to bring this case.”
Internal disagreements surface in the CFTC as it defends Gemini Bitcoin futures
The original lawsuit arrived in 2022 and focused on statements tied to the approval process for Bitcoin futures products launched with the Cboe Futures Exchange in 2017. Regulators questioned Gemini’s comments about prefunding practices, market-maker rebates, self-trading controls and auction trading volume.
As a result, the CFTC concluded the complaint should not have been filed — and would not have been under current enforcement standards.
CFTC
Now, the agency says major weaknesses existed throughout the case. According to the filing, the investigation relied heavily on a whistleblower account “known to be lacking in credibility.” The CFTC also acknowledged “serious questions about the strength of the evidence against Gemini.”
Internal messages cited in the motion show deep skepticism among enforcement lawyers before the complaint was approved. One former attorney wrote, “I do not have much confidence in this matter,” while another reportedly called it “a sh***y factual case.”
The filing further claims Gemini itself was defrauded by institutional customers and a former executive through rebate arrangements that allegedly cost the company more than $7.5 million.
The reversal lands during a regulatory shift for crypto businesses. Gemini has faced multiple legal and compliance battles in New York alongside other exchanges including Coinbase, while regulators have simultaneously softened some positions involving prediction markets and digital-asset reporting obligations.
Gemini also continues pursuing expansion through Gemini Titan, a federally compliant prediction-markets platform that has faced regulatory delays and internal corporate turbulence. The latest court filing claims enforcement lawyers improperly delayed a separate Gemini Titan application as leverage during settlement negotiations.
The companies settled the case shortly before trial in late 2024. Gemini paid a $5 million civil penalty under a consent order entered in January 2025.
Now both sides want remaining restrictions removed, including injunctive provisions and limits on Gemini’s future public statements about the dispute.
“Continuing enforcement of the Consent Order’s prospective provisions serves neither the CFTC’s mission nor the public interest,” the filing states.
Featured Image: via Gemini on X
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