The Winklevoss twins’ Gemini agreed to settle a case with the CFTC, paying a fine of $5 million. Gemini neither confirmed nor denied charges of misleading the finance regulator.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss made major efforts to support pro-crypto candidates in the last election but have criticized the CFTC on multiple issues. Many industry advocates want the CFTC to take over crypto regulation from the SEC, but the twins may complicate this effort.
Winklevoss Twins And CFTC Settle
The Gemini Trust Company, founded by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has successfully avoided a court battle with the CFTC. This legal fight began in 2022 when the CFTC sued Gemini for allegedly lying about its methods to prevent manipulation in Bitcoin prices.
“After [CBOE] certified Gemini’s proposed futures contract as eligible for listing, the CFTC, purusant to its statutory authority, began its own investigation. Gemini’s representations, the CFTC alleges, were false and misleading on material matters, leading to this lawsuit,” its complaint reads.
Before the settlement, the parties would have gone to court one day after President-elect Trump’s inauguration. The twins heavily supported him in the 2024 election, and this could’ve made a public legal fight more embarrassing.
In fact, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss recently tried to influence pro-crypto policy in a number of ways beyond the CFTC.
For example, they donated $1 million in November to a failed effort to unseat Senator Elizabeth Warren, a notorious crypto opponent. They also praised Elon Musk’s D.O.G.E. reforms.
Although this legal battle may have ended with a settlement, the suit was ongoing for two years. So, the Winklevoss twins may continue holding acrimonious feelings.
Back in August, the twins criticized the CFTC for attempting to restrict prediction markets. Additionally, before the election, they demanded clarity on who the next SEC Chair could be.
However, since Trump won the Presidency, some sections of the industry have demanded that the CFTC take over some of the SEC’s crypto regulation duties.
For obvious reasons, neither Tyler nor Cameron Winklevoss has loudly supported the CFTC as a main crypto regulator. Still, the new Senate Majority Leader has supported this goal, adding additional momentum. This whole episode shows the cracks that can appear in an ostensibly unified pro-crypto coalition.
This is to say that the pair haven’t made too many specific demands for the future of US crypto regulation beyond their efforts to put Trump in the White House. After the election, they urged prosecutors to look into SBF’s political contributions but have few other specific demands.
Overall, the effort to empower the CFTC to take regulatory responsibilities may move forward, but probably without Winklevoss’ support.
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