Gemini, the crypto outfit run by the Winklevoss twins, just dodged a bullet—the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has shut down its investigation after nearly two years of digging. Cameron Winklevoss broke the news, saying the SEC’s been poking around for 700 days and sent a Wells Notice 277 days ago, but they’re finally backing off with no enforcement action planned.
The trouble started in January 2023 when the SEC came after Gemini and Genesis Global Capital over their Earn program—a now-dead deal where users lent out crypto for yield. The agency claimed it was an unregistered securities hustle, and things fell apart when Genesis slammed the brakes on withdrawals during the 2022 bear market crash. Case closed now, sure, but the SEC’s quick to note this isn’t a full “you’re in the clear” pass—more of a “we’ll see” with the door cracked open for later.
Cameron’s calling it a win in the “war on crypto,” but he’s not popping champagne. He’s ticked about the “tens of millions” in legal bills Gemini racked up, not to mention the broader hit the industry’s taken. “The SEC’s shotgun approach has cost way more—unmeasurable losses in growth for America,” he griped. And he’s got ideas to stop this from happening again: triple payback for legal costs if regulators swing and miss without clear rules, a public “dishonorable discharge” list for overzealous SEC staffers, and a lifetime ban from government gigs for anyone “weaponizing the law”—looking at you, ex-chair Gary Gensler.
