Crypto firm Gemini to pay over $1 billion back to customers in settlement
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has promised to return $1.1 billion to customers as part of a settlement it reached with New York’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Gemini will also have to pay $37 million to the NYDFS “for significant failures that threatened the safety and soundness of the company.”
The NYDFS claims Gemini, which is owned by twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, had “compliance, management, and internal audit issues” when it came to managing its Earn program. Introduced in 2021, Gemini’s Earn program let customers loan their cryptocurrency to the crypto brokerage Genesis Global Capital while receiving interest.
Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris: “#Gemini failed to conduct due diligence on an unregulated...