SEC Closes Investigation Into Crypto Exchange Gemini Without Recommending Enforcement Action: Cameron Winklevoss

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss says that federal securities regulators have ended their probe into the US-based crypto exchange.

According to Winklevoss, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has informed Gemini lawyer Jack Baughman that it has concluded its investigation and will not pursue an enforcement action against the platform.

The SEC has already dropped its case against the crypto exchange Coinbase and is shutting down investigations into the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea, the retail trading app Robinhood and the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) UniSwap.

Winklevoss says these developments mark a milestone signifying the end of the SEC’s “war on crypto,” but the Gemini co-founder argues they still do little to make up for the damage caused by the agency.

“The SEC cost us tens of millions of dollars in legal bills alone and hundreds of millions in lost productivity, creativity, and innovation. Of course, Gemini is not alone. The SEC’s behavior in aggregate towards other crypto companies and projects cost orders of magnitude more and caused unquantifiable loss in economic growth for America.”

To deter abuses, Winklevoss says regulatory agencies should reimburse three times the legal expense for initiating investigations or enforcement actions without first establishing the rules.

He also proposes lifetime bans for regulatory officials who “weaponize the law.”

“We will not rebuild trust and integrity in federal agencies unless there are serious consequences for bad faith actors.”

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