The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Gemini Trust have collectively sought a 60-day pause in their ongoing legal proceedings to consider a possible resolution.
The filing, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 1, requests the court to extend all deadlines while further discussions take place.
In January 2023, the SEC initiated its first legal action against Gemini Trust and Genesis Global Capital, alleging that they had illegally raised billions through the Gemini Earn program without properly registering it as a securities offering.
This lawsuit forms part of the SEC’s larger initiative to regulate cryptocurrency firms, aligned with the current administration’s regulatory framework. Previously, Gemini agreed to reimburse $2.18 billion to impacted customers as part of a settlement with New York’s regulators.
The motion did not clarify whether the ongoing discussions could yield a settlement, dismissal, or another form of resolution, but both parties contend that pausing the case is beneficial for the public interest and helps to conserve judicial resources. A joint status update from the SEC and Gemini will be provided within 60 days if the request is granted.
Since the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency in January, there has been a noteworthy alteration in regulatory enforcement. Under the direction of acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the SEC has retracted legal threats against platforms like Robinhood, Uniswap, Immutable, and OpenSea, and has dropped lawsuits against prominent cryptocurrency companies such as Coinbase and Kraken.
This shift in strategy has been positively received by stakeholders in the crypto sector, who previously endured stringent enforcement under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The Winklevoss twins, who co-founded Gemini, have also been vocal advocates for a regulatory environment more favorable to cryptocurrencies.
They each contributed the maximum allowable amount of $844,600 to Trump’s 2024 campaign. Genesis, which managed $900 million from 340,000 customers involved in Gemini Earn before pausing withdrawals in November 2022, concluded its part of the case in February 2024 by agreeing to a $21 million settlement.