The Commodity Futures Trading Commission just made a rare move: it asked a judge to throw out one of its own cases. The case is against Gemini Trust, the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and the agency that brought the case is now saying it never should have.
The original order dropped in January 2025, in the final weeks of the Biden administration, and it hit Gemini with a $5 million penalty plus an injunction barring the company from making false statements to the agency. The case went back to the second half of 2017, when Gemini gave the CFTC false statements about a bitcoin futures contract.
On Wednesday, the agency asked a New York federal court judge to vacate the order, with the $5 million already paid. What the CFTC actually wants gone is the forward-looking piece, meaning the rules about Gemini's future conduct.
The agency is now led by Michael Selig, an appointee of President Donald Trump whose 2024 campaign received donations from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
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Tim Massad, who ran the CFTC under President Obama, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" the move is "very unusual." He said in his time at the agency, "the CFTC enforcement division was very professional and acted with integrity and care," and cases didn't get filed unless they were strong on the merits.
Translation: an experienced person who used to run this place is publicly raising an eyebrow.
Gemini's lawyer, Avi Perry, told CNBC, "The facts speak for themselves. This case should have never been brought, and we are thankful that the CFTC has joined us in seeking to right this wrong."
The agency's official explanation is that a "comprehensive review" of the case found that "the complaint should not have been filed - and would not have been under current enforcement standards." It also said keeping the rest of the order in place "would not be equitable" since the fine has already been paid.
For investors, this is the bigger trend. Crypto enforcement under the Trump-appointed CFTC has loosened compared to the Biden era, and companies that fought regulators a year ago are now being handed clean slates.
The judge still has to rule on the request, but the bigger story is what this signals about how the CFTC plans to handle crypto cases going forward. The agency just told a court its own staff filed a case it shouldn't have, and that kind of public reset usually means more dropped cases ahead.
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