Gemini, the crypto firm founded by the Winklevoss twins, is no longer facing scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Co-founder Cameron Winklevoss revealed that the SEC decided against taking enforcement action nearly 700 days after launching its investigation and 277 days after issuing a Wells Notice.
In January 2023, the SEC investigated Gemini and Genesis Global Capital for offering unregistered securities through their Earn program, which allowed users to lend crypto for yield. The program failed when Genesis halted withdrawals during the 2022 bear market. While the case has closed, the SEC did not exonerate the companies, leaving the door open for future actions. Winklevoss called a recent decision a significant moment in the battle against the SEC’s views on cryptocurrency but noted it doesn’t undo the damage to the industry, including the legal costs and regulatory uncertainties faced by companies like Gemini.
Winklevoss proposed several measures to address regulatory overreach, including a reimbursement policy requiring regulators to compensate companies three times their legal costs if clear rules are not established before investigations start. He also suggested a “dishonourable discharge” policy for SEC officials responsible for what he views as baseless enforcement actions, advocating for their public dismissal and disclosure on the agency’s website. Furthermore, he recommended banning regulators who misuse the law from holding any government position permanently.
“Just like the SEC bars individuals from trading securities if they break the law, there should be a process that bars those like Gary Gensler who weaponize the law, as well those who participate in the weaponization, from ever being appointed to or hired by an agency again,”
he stated.
Meanwhile, the SEC has closed its investigation into the NFT marketplace OpenSea without pursuing enforcement action. OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer announced this as a significant victory for the community and digital collectables, stressing that classifying NFTs as securities could have hindered innovation in the space.
If you want to read more news articles like this, visit DeFi Planet and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and CoinMarketCap Community.
“Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”
