The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Gemini Trust Co., the crypto exchange founded by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, have jointly requested a 60-day pause in their ongoing legal battle to explore a potential resolution.
The motion, filed on April 1, 2025, in Manhattan federal court, marks a possible turning point in a case that has loomed over Gemini since January 2023, when the SEC accused the exchange of offering unregistered securities through its Gemini Earn program.
This move comes amid a broader thaw in regulatory tensions under a crypto-friendly Trump administration, raising hopes for a more collaborative future between regulators and the digital asset sector.
The SEC’s lawsuit against Gemini, alongside its former partner Genesis Global Capital, centers on the Gemini Earn program, which allowed retail investors to lend their crypto assets in exchange for interest payments.
The regulator alleged that the program, which raised billions in crypto assets from over 340,000 customers, constituted an unregistered securities offering, violating federal disclosure and investor protection laws.
The case gained added complexity when Genesis filed for bankruptcy in 2023 following the collapse of the Gemini Earn initiative, leaving investors with approximately $900 million in frozen assets.
While Genesis settled with the SEC for $21 million in March 2024, the enforcement action against Gemini persisted—until now.
According to Bloomberg, the joint letter filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York requests a suspension of all deadlines to facilitate discussions that could lead to a settlement, dismissal, or other resolution.
Both parties argue that this pause serves the public interest and conserves judicial resources, though specifics of their talks remain undisclosed.
Reuters reports that this development aligns with a noticeable shift in the SEC’s approach, as the agency has recently dropped or paused multiple lawsuits against crypto firms, including Coinbase, OpenSea, and Immutable.
This trend follows the election of President Donald Trump, whose administration has signaled a more lenient stance on digital assets—a stance the Winklevoss twins, vocal Trump supporters, have championed.
The potential resolution carries high stakes for Gemini, which has faced significant fallout from the Earn program’s failure.
In February 2024, Gemini agreed to return $1.1 billion to affected customers as part of a settlement with New York regulators and paid an additional $37 million fine.
Cameron Winklevoss has previously criticized the SEC’s “regulation-by-enforcement” tactics, estimating that legal battles cost Gemini tens of millions in fees and hundreds of millions in lost productivity.
The twins, each worth $3 billion according to Forbes, have positioned Gemini as a compliant player in the crypto space, making this lawsuit a critical test of their vision.
For the broader industry, a resolution could signal a new era of regulatory clarity.
With Gemini also pursuing an IPO—confidentially filed in March 2025 with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup as advisors—this pause could bolster its public market prospects.
As the SEC and Gemini try to negotiate, the outcome may set a precedent for how crypto firms navigate U.S. regulations, potentially fostering innovation rather than litigation (or regulation by enforcement) in the years ahead.