Binance Saga continues.... What's next?

By
Olga Kharif and
Emily Nicolle
+Follow
30 May 2023 at 07:00 GMT+8

Since going all-in on Bitcoin over a decade ago, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have had their share of ups and downs.

But these days, issues around the billionaire twins’ Gemini crypto exchange just seem to keep piling up.

The SEC is suing Gemini as regulators crack down on the industry. The exchange’s market share has shrunk versus rivals even as crypto prices have rebounded.

A banking partner wants to break up. And now this month, a crucial due date on a loan — that, if repaid by its bankrupt lending partner's parent company, could help hundreds of thousands of Gemini customers recoup some of the $900 million worth of crypto
 
May 26 (Reuters) - An exchange run by the twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss on Friday asked a U.S. judge to dismiss a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit claiming it illegally sold unregistered securities in a program that promised high interest rates to hundreds of thousands of investors.

Gemini Trust Co's request was filed in Manhattan federal court, in response to the SEC's Jan. 12 civil lawsuit against the exchange and the cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Capital LLC, a unit of Digital Currency Group.

The SEC had sued over Gemini Earn, which let customers lend crypto assets such as bitcoin to Genesis, with Gemini taking an agent fee as high as 4.29%.
 
According to the regulator, the program let Gemini and Genesis raise billions of dollars of crypto assets, before Genesis halted withdrawals last November in the wake of the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

The SEC said Genesis held $900 million of assets from about 340,000 Gemini Earn customers. Gemini and Genesis were accused by the regulator of having bypassed disclosure requirements meant to protect investors.

In Friday's filing, Gemini said the loan agreements among itself, Genesis and customers were neither sold nor traded on secondary markets, and did not transfer title to assets, and therefore did not qualify as securities.

"Accordingly, there was no requirement that any party register it with the SEC," it said.

The SEC declined to comment.
 
The SEC throwing charges into the mix, especially regarding Changpeng Zhao's ownership, adds serious suspense. Meanwhile, if you've ever dabbled in crypto, you know hiccups can happen. Speaking of which, had a Coinbase glitch once, and Coinbase customer service was surprisingly stellar. Now, with Binance facing a temporary pause with banking partners, wonder how this will ripple through the crypto space. Any thoughts on the SEC showdown?
 
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