The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally dismissed its civil enforcement action against Gemini Trust Company with prejudice, effectively ending one of the longest-running regulatory cases stemming from the 2022 crypto lending collapse. The joint stipulation to dismiss was filed on Friday, January 23, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, pending a federal judge's final sign-off.
The SEC's lawsuit, originally filed in January 2023 during the Biden administration's regulatory crackdown, targeted Gemini's Earn program. The program allowed users to lend cryptocurrency to Genesis Global Capital in exchange for yield. The SEC alleged the product constituted an unregistered securities offering.
The regulator cited the 100% in-kind return of customer crypto assets to Gemini Earn investors through the Genesis bankruptcy proceedings in mid-2024 as the primary reason for dismissal. Gemini also agreed to contribute up to $40 million to facilitate the full return of assets. The SEC noted that Genesis had separately settled by agreeing to pay a $21 million fine.
This dismissal with prejudice means the SEC cannot refile the same claims against Gemini in the future. It represents a rare resolution in high-profile crypto enforcement, particularly for yield products that faced intense scrutiny after the failures of Celsius, BlockFi, and Genesis. The case had been paused since April 2024 under then-acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda.
The SEC emphasized that this dismissal is specific to Gemini's remediation efforts and does not signal a broader shift in enforcement policy or establish legal precedent regarding the classification of crypto yield products. It highlights investor restitution as a decisive factor in closing legacy enforcement actions.
This case adds to a growing list of crypto-related cases dropped by U.S. agencies since the Trump administration took office in January 2025, which has promised industry deregulation. Other notable dismissed cases include those involving Binance, Kraken, Uniswap, Immutable, Robinhood, and a former OpenSea manager.
