By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused an exchange run by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of failing to register a cryptocurrency asset lending program before offering it to retail investors.
In a letter filed on Monday in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for the SEC and the exchange now known as Gemini Space Station said the settlement in principle would “completely resolve” the lawsuit over Gemini Earn, subject to approval by the commission.
The lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos to give them until December 15 to submit final paperwork, and to put all deadlines on hold.
Neither the SEC nor Gemini’s lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment.
The settlement was disclosed four days after Gemini raised $425 million in an initial public offering, valuing the New York-based company at about $3.3 billion.
Shares of Gemini closed up 52 cents at $32.52 on Monday, 16% above the $28 IPO price.
Gemini Earn let customers lend bitcoin and other crypto assets to the cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Capital in exchange for interest payments, with Gemini Trust taking fees as high as 4.29%.
Genesis halted withdrawals in November 2022, the same month Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed, and filed for bankruptcy two months later. It held $900 million of assets from about 340,000 Gemini Earn customers at the time.
The SEC sued Gemini and Genesis in January 2023, saying they bypassed disclosure requirements for Gemini Earn that were meant to protect investors.
Genesis accepted a $21 million fine to settle, without admitting wrongdoing. Gemini has denied wrongdoing.
The SEC has eased oversight of the cryptocurrency industry since Donald Trump became president in January.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, 44, are each worth $4.6 billion according to Forbes magazine.
The case is SEC v Gemini Trust Co et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-00287.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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