The SEC agrees to a settlement with Gemini in crypto case

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reached a preliminary settlement with billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’ cryptocurrency platform Gemini ￰0￱ SEC accused the cryptocurrency platform of failing to register a cryptocurrency asset lending program before offering it to retail ￰1￱ to reports, the settlement resolves the agency’s lawsuit over the Gemini Earn ￰2￱ settlement still needs to be approved by SEC In a letter filed on Monday in a Manhattan federal court, lawyers representing both parties indicated the settlement would “completely resolve” the lawsuit but still subject to SEC ￰3￱ lawyers reportedly asked the US District Judge Edgardo Ramos to give them up to December 15 to submit their final paperwork, and to put all deadlines on ￰4￱ exact terms of the settlement remain confidential pending a final approval from commissioners.

However, experts familiar with similar cases are projecting the penalty will be in the region of $10 million to $20 million, which is far less severe than initially ￰5￱ are also significantly lower penalties than those that were imposed during the previous ￰6￱ settlement was revealed four days after Gemini raised $425 million in an initial public offering , valuing the New York based firm at about $3.3 billion in its market ￰7￱ to a Reuters report, Gemini shares closed up 52 cents at $32.52 on Monday, which was 16% above the $28 IPO ￰8￱ Earn, which launched in 2021 allowed customers to lend bitcoin and other crypto assets to the cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Capital in exchange for interest payments, with Gemini Trust taking fees as high as 4.29%.

Gemini paused withdrawals in November 2022, the same month that Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed before filing for bankruptcy two months ￰9￱ exchange held $900 million assets from about 340,000 Gemini Earn customers at the ￰10￱ January 2023, the SEC sued Gemini and Genesis on allegations that they bypassed disclosure requirements for Gemini Earn that were meant to protect ￰11￱ accepted a $21 million fine to settle without admitting any ￰12￱ SEC – Gemini settlement signals regulator’s softer approach to crypto The SEC has stopped oversight of the cryptocurrency industry since Donald Trump became president in January and appointed crypto-friendly officials to lead the agency including the new chair, Paul Atkins, who has called for clearer guidelines rather than enforcement ￰13￱ far, the SEC has created a Crypto Task Force designed to develop appropriate frameworks for digital assets and has halted several investigations into major industry ￰14￱ resolution of the Gemini Trust case is not unique as it follows a similar pattern to other crypto settlements recently ￰15￱ include cases against Ripple Labs, which was finalized with a leaner penalty as well as more favorable terms for the cryptocurrency ￰16￱ experts view these developments as a sign that the US is becoming more receptive to cryptocurrency innovation while still maintaining consumer ￰17￱ to Namecoin News , this also to be a shift from viewing most digital assets as securities that require strict registration to recognizing that different types of cryptocurrencies may need different regulatory ￰18￱ for an average crypto user, this settlement also means that established firms like Gemini can continue operating with greater regulatory ￰19￱ $50 free to trade crypto when you sign up to Bybit now