CFTC Chairman Michael Selig alleges the agency's enforcement case against the Winklevoss twins' Gemini exchange was a politically motivated attack by the Biden administration. The CFTC is now moving to vacate a 2025 settlement, which included a $5M fine, citing a flawed investigation. The move comes amid scrutiny of the Winklevoss's political donations to Donald Trump and their alleged lobbying efforts to influence the CFTC's leadership.
CFTC motion vacating Gemini penalties
- ▪The original case, filed in 2022, alleged Gemini made false or misleading statements in 2017 regarding a bitcoin futures product
- ▪An internal CFTC review concluded the case against Gemini should never have been filed, citing weak evidence and an unreliable whistleblower
- ▪In late May 2026, the CFTC asked a federal court in New York to vacate a January 2025 settlement order against the Gemini crypto exchange
- ▪Gemini has already paid the $5 million fine, which cannot be returned, but vacating the order would lift the permanent injunction
- ▪The January 2025 settlement included a $5 million fine and a permanent injunction barring Gemini from making false statements to the CFTC
Winklevoss-Quintenz lobbying dispute
- ▪Brian Quintenz alleged the Winklevoss twins lobbied against his nomination after he refused to promise a favorable outcome in the Gemini case
- ▪Michael Selig was nominated for CFTC chair after Donald Trump pulled the nomination of Brian Quintenz in September 2025
Gemini financial decline
- ▪Gemini's net losses increased from $158 million in 2024 to $585 million in 2025
- ▪After going public in September 2025, Gemini's stock has fallen roughly 84% from its $28 IPO price
Gemini workforce restructuring
- ▪Around the same time as its workforce cuts, Gemini lost its chief operating, financial, and legal officers in quick succession
- ▪In February, Gemini cut nearly 30% of its workforce and exited its operations in Europe and Australia
Trump administration crypto policy
- ▪Michael Selig stated the CFTC is "righting those wrongs" and reversing past actions, adding that such targeting will not happen again under his administration
- ▪CFTC Chairman Michael Selig alleged the Biden administration "weaponized" federal agencies to "politically target" the crypto industry, including the Winklevoss twins
Winklevoss political donations
- ▪Tyler Winklevoss was appointed to the CFTC's Innovation Advisory Committee by Michael Selig in January 2026
- ▪Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss were among the largest individual crypto donors to Donald Trump's 2024 election campaign
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