U.S. judge rejects Gemini, CFTC bid to void $5M settlement

A federal judge rejected an unusual joint request from Gemini and the CFTC to overturn the exchange's $5 million settlement, even though the regulator now says the case should never have been brought. Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York ruled that the CFTC's changed position does not undo the January 2025 agreement and also rejected Gemini's claim that it was coerced into settling.

• The ruling keeps intact a court order barring Gemini from misleading the CFTC or publicly denying the settlement's findings; the exchange had already paid the $5 million.
• Hellerstein noted Gemini "litigated the case for approximately three years" before settling shortly before trial.
• The CFTC sued Gemini in 2023 over allegedly misleading regulators during a 2017 review of a proposed bitcoin futures contract.
• The decision shows Washington's friendlier crypto stance is not retroactive — a regulator and company agreeing a case was a mistake does not erase an existing court judgment.