Gemini Trust Co. and Genesis Global Capital LLC have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that the companies offered unregistered securities through their Gemini Earn program.
The SEC’s lawsuit, filed in January 2023, alleges that Gemini and Genesis violated the Securities Act of 1933 by offering and selling unregistered securities to the public.
The SEC claims that the Gemini Earn program was a security because it involved the investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others.
In their motion to dismiss, Gemini and Genesis argue that the Gemini Earn program was not a security. They argue that the program was simply a lending arrangement, and that investors did not have a reasonable expectation of profits.
They also argue that the SEC’s lawsuit is an attempt to regulate innovation in the cryptocurrency industry.
The motion to dismiss is currently pending before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for June 2023.
