The long-running legal dispute between US regulators and Gemini Trust Company has formally come to an end. After nearly three years of litigation tied to the collapse of crypto lending markets, the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to dismiss its Gemini Earn lawsuit with prejudice, permanently closing the case.
The SEC filed a joint stipulation in federal court to terminate its enforcement action, citing the 100% in-kind recovery of customer assets as a decisive factor. Gemini Earn investors were made whole through the Genesis Global Capital bankruptcy process, which concluded distributions between May and June 2024.
According to the SEC’s litigation release;
Because the dismissal is with prejudice, the regulator is barred from refiling the same claims. The agency noted that prior regulatory and state-level settlements involving Gemini also contributed to its decision.
The lawsuit was originally filed in January 2023, alleging that the Gemini Earn lending program operated as an unregistered securities offering. The program, launched in early 2021, allowed users to earn yields of up to 7.4% annually but froze withdrawals in late 2022 when Genesis halted redemptions, impacting roughly 340,000 customers and $940 million in assets.
The dismissal follows substantial settlements, including millions paid to regulators and additional contributions to ensure customer repayment. It also reflects a broader trend of reduced crypto enforcement actions as US regulators reassess oversight strategies. The Gemini Earn resolution stands as a landmark case in the post-2022 crypto market reset, underscoring the role of investor restitution in regulatory outcomes.
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