- The SEC has dropped investigations against Coinbase, Robinhood Crypto, and Uniswap
- Cameron Winklevoss said the result does “little to make up for the damage” done
- He said there should be “thoughtful legislation” to deter agencies from bullying lawful organizations
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its investigation of Gemini and will not pursue an enforcement action.
The crypto exchange is the latest platform to have an SEC lawsuit against it end amid a change in direction at the agency. In recent weeks, the SEC has closed investigations against Coinbase, Robinhood Crypto, and Uniswap, among others.
In a post on X, Cameron Winklevoss, Gemini’s co-founder, said the move “comes 699 days after the start of their investigation and 277 days after they sent us a Wells Notice.”
“While this marks another milestone to the end of the war on crypto…it does little to make up for the damage this agency has done to us, our industry, and America,” he added.
On Monday, the SEC informed our litigation counsel @JackBaughman27 that it has closed its investigation into @Gemini and will not be pursuing an enforcement action against us. This comes 699 days after the start of their investigation and 277 days after they sent us a Wells… pic.twitter.com/dTjg9CJXVl
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) February 26, 2025
Charges against Gemini
In 2023, the SEC charged Gemini and Genesis Global Capital, a crypto lending platform, with selling unregistered securities through the Gemini Earn product.
At the time, the SEC argued that the pair had misrepresented their business model by advertising returns of up to 8% to investors without registering as a lending partnership with the relevant authorities.
While the investigation is at an end for Gemini, the SEC has cost the crypto exchange “tens of millions of dollars in legal bills and hundreds of millions in lost productivity, creativity, and innovation,” Winklevoss said.
“The SEC’s behavior in aggregate towards other crypto companies and projects cost orders of magnitude more and caused unquantifiable loss in economic growth for America,” he said.
Unacceptable behavior
Gemini criticized the previous SEC under former chair Gary Gensler arguing that it was “wholly unacceptable” for the SEC to attack the crypto industry “and then decide one day to simply say we’re good and walk away.”
Winklevoss said “thoughtful legislation” will deter agencies from taking action against lawful organizations when those agencies refuse to write rules before opening an investigation. Some ideas he put forward include reimbursement, dishonorable discharges, and banning those involved from being hired by an agency again.
