The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has joined Gemini Trust Company LLC in a motion for relief from judgment in CFTC v. Gemini Trust Company LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, asking the court to vacate the prospective provisions of the January 2025 consent order. Following a review of the investigation, evidence, charging decision, litigation tactics, and changes in federal digital asset enforcement policy, the agency concluded the June 2022 complaint should not have been filed and would not have been brought under current enforcement standards. The review found the case relied heavily on a whistleblower account the CFTC knew lacked credibility, raised serious questions about the strength of the evidence, and pursued Gemini over alleged false statements in a registration application even though the firm was a fraud victim. It also identified process concerns, including evidentiary support being withheld from a Commissioner during the vote on the complaint, the agency putting its internal deliberations at issue while invoking deliberative process privilege to block Gemini’s access to evidence, and personnel improperly using regulatory authority to create settlement leverage. The CFTC said continued enforcement of the order’s forward-looking terms would serve neither its mission nor the public interest. The joint motion therefore seeks to vacate the remaining prospective provisions, including injunctive relief, while leaving intact non-prospective terms that have already been satisfied, including the civil monetary penalty.

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