A federal judge just told Gemini and the CFTC no, and he didn’t sound shy about it. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York refused a joint request to vacate a $5 million settlement. The January 2025 consent order stays right where it is.
The deal itself was simple enough. Gemini settled CFTC charges three weeks before trial. It paid a $5 million civil penalty. It did not admit wrongdoing. The order also includes a permanent injunction barring false or misleading statements to the CFTC.
Then politics shifted. In May 2026, Gemini and the CFTC jointly asked the court to erase the whole thing. The request was tied to a change in crypto-enforcement policy under the Trump administration. The parties argued the earlier enforcement action reflected unfair tactics. The CFTC said continuing enforcement no longer served its mission or the public interest. Reuters reported the agency sought to withdraw the judgment. Tyler Winklevoss had also played a role in opposing the confirmation of the CFTC’s first nominee under Trump.
Politics shifted, and Gemini and the CFTC asked a judge to erase the whole settlement. The agency said enforcement no longer served the public interest.
Hellerstein wasn’t buying it. He said the parties failed to show sufficient grounds for relief. Gemini’s later receipt of additional materials didn’t justify undoing the order. The alleged post-settlement developments weren’t enough to make continued enforcement inequitable. He found no post-judgment factual change sufficient to warrant vacatur. Reporting on the decision says the Federal Rule 60 standards weren’t met.
The judge also pointed out the obvious. Gemini agreed to this settlement voluntarily. Regret over settling doesn’t invalidate a consent order. Ouch. Gemini had already paid the penalty, too. That’s a lot of money to spend on a deal it later wanted erased.
The backdrop is hard to ignore. This was a Biden-era enforcement action later challenged under Trump-era crypto policy. Gemini is tied to the Winklevoss brothers, who supported Trump’s 2024 campaign. Make of that what you will. Meanwhile, Gemini has launched a prediction market business that lets customers trade on future events, from gold prices to sporting events.
The legal takeaway is pretty clean. Joint requests from an agency and a defendant still face judicial scrutiny. Consent orders aren’t easily undone after entry. A policy shift can only reach so far into finalized court orders. The original injunction and penalty remain enforceable. Policy reversals, it turns out, don’t automatically unwind completed settlements. For crypto firms, the case is a reminder that compliance risks involving regulations like AML and KYC verification can carry lasting consequences that shifting politics won’t erase.
The ruling came in October 2026. Washington’s priorities on crypto enforcement may have changed. The courtroom, at least this one, didn’t get the memo. So Gemini keeps the injunction, and the CFTC keeps an awkward spot: it asked a judge to bury its own case. The judge simply declined to grab the shovel. Order stays.
