SEC seeks 60-day delay in Gemini Trust’s $900M lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Gemini Trust have jointly requested a 60-day stay in their ongoing lawsuit to explore a potential resolution. The motion , which was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 1, requests that the court postpone all deadlines while further discussions occur. In January 2023, the SEC filed its first lawsuit against Gemini Trust and Genesis Global Capital, claiming they had unlawfully raised billions of dollars through the Gemini Earn program without registering it as a securities offering. The lawsuit was part of the SEC’s broader crackdown on crypto firms under the Biden administration’s regulatory push. Gemini had previously agreed to return $2.18 billion to affected customers as part of a separate settlement with New York regulators. The motion did not specify whether discussions could lead to a settlement, dismissal, or another resolution, but both parties argue that pausing the case serves the public interest and conserves judicial resources. The SEC and Gemini will provide a joint status update within 60 days of the request being approved. You might also like: Coinbase, Kraken, and 32 other companies urge to block the DOJ from prosecuting web3 builders like Tornado Cash Since President Donald Trump assumed office in January, there has been a major shift in regulatory enforcement. The SEC, under the leadership of acting Chair Mark Uyeda, has withdrawn legal threats against Robinhood, Uniswap, Immutable, and OpenSea and dropped lawsuits against major cryptocurrency companies like Coinbase and Kraken. The change in approach has been welcomed by crypto industry players who previously faced strict enforcement under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The Winklevoss twins, founders of Gemini, have also been active supporters of a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment. They each donated the maximum allowed $844,600 to Trump’s 2024 campaign. Genesis, which managed $900 million from 340,000 Gemini Earn customers before halting withdrawals in November 2022, settled its part of the case in February 2024 by agreeing to a $21 million fine. Read more: Will Michael Saylor pull the rug?