CFTC Chair Seeks to Void $5M Gemini Settlement

CFTC Chair Michael Selig filed a motion last week asking a federal court to vacate a $5 million settlement the commission reached with Gemini in January 2025. The filing alleges the agency, during the prior administration, politically targeted Gemini co‑founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

Selig said the agency must return to nonpartisan enforcement and accused the prior administration of using federal regulators against the crypto industry. He said some staff were removed after he concluded they were “engaging in lawfare,” and added that the agency is reversing what he described as politicized enforcement. He declined to discuss details of the underlying investigation, saying the matters are active.

The settlement in question was negotiated and signed in January 2025 under the previous commission leadership. Former CFTC chair Timothy Massad described the effort to undo a resolved case as “extraordinarily unusual,” highlighting the procedural questions the filing raises.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss each donated $1 million to former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. The twins have since attended White House events, including the signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act, a law related to stablecoins. Their involvement in the earlier enforcement action is cited in the CFTC filing.

Selig serves as the commission’s sole commissioner after a wave of departures in 2025, including former acting chair Caroline Pham. Several members of Congress have urged the White House to nominate a bipartisan group to fill the CFTC’s five-person panel; no new nominees had been announced at the time of the filing.

Under Selig, the CFTC has taken an expansive view of federal jurisdiction over crypto products and markets. The agency has filed lawsuits arguing federal commodities law preempts state restrictions on prediction markets and has issued guidance supporting perpetual crypto contracts and around-the-clock trading.

A federal court will now consider whether to undo the January settlement. The CFTC and Gemini did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the filing.