CFTC Shocks Crypto Market by Saying Gemini Case Should Never Have Been Filed

Key Takeaways:

• The CFTC requested a federal court overturning a portion of its previous ruling against Gemini.
• Regulators admitted the original complaint relied heavily on a whistleblower considered unreliable.
• The agency reported that the case would not have been filed if digital asset enforcement guidelines had been in place at the time.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has reversed its own course in one of its most recent and public and crypto police actions. Now the agency says its lawsuit against Gemini Trust Company shouldn’t have been filed in the first place.

The CFTC joined Gemini in its motion for relief from the judgment that is associated with a lawsuit it filed last year against the crypto exchange. The transfer reflects a transformational approach to digital asset enforcement in line with new policy guidance from U.S. regulators.

Read More: SEC, CFTC Host Joint Crypto Harmonization Event as U.S. Pushes Regulatory Clarity

CFTC Admits Serious Problems in Gemini Investigation

The CFTC stated that it had reviewed the entire case of Gemini, from the investigation process to evidence, litigation strategy, and CFTC enforcement actions during the Gemstone saga. The agency’s review found a number of significant problems.

The CFTC claimed that a whistleblower report was already known to have limited credibility within the agency itself and was vital to the complaint. Regulators also admitted that it may have been Gemini’s operator, not the company itself, that may have defrauded people.

The underlying case against Gemini alleged that the exchange admitting its exchange of Bitcoin futures made false statements in the approval process.

However, the agency now says there were “serious questions” about the strength of the evidence used to support those allegations. The filing also claimed important evidentiary materials were withheld from at least one CFTC commissioner during the vote to authorize the complaint.

Internal Conduct Raises New Questions

Agency Says Enforcement Tactics Went Too Far

The CFTC’s statement discussed issues of evidence as well as a degree of criticism regarding aspects of CFTC enforcement actions.

In seeking privilege, litigation counsel blocked Gemini from seeing internal discussions that were used to inform his defense even after the agency focused his doubt on his company’s internal deliberations, per the filing.

The review also uncovered some instances of those apparently abusing the CFTC’s regulatory authority to jack up settlement pressure on the company.

The results of those investigations are sure to reignite discussion of how the various federal agencies have conducted crypto investigations in past enforcement rounds.

This case was cited by the agency as an example of how it felt that new enforcement rules in the digital asset industry were needed.

Read More: Polymarket Wins Landmark CFTC Approval, Clearing the Way to Launch Regulated US Prediction Markets

Gemini and CFTC Seek to Vacate Injunction

The motion filed by the joint plaintiffs seeks judicial invalidation of prospective requirements in the consent order that was reached in January of this year by Judge Johnson and the plaintiffs.

The Gemini case was initially launched in 2022 and focused on such statements related to a purported Bitcoin futures contract. The regulators then said the data is essential in determining whether the markets are being manipulated and whether they will be liquid.

Now, in a remarkable public volte-face in a turn of the screw, the same agency is voicing doubts about the rationale for its complaint.

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