At the recent White House Crypto Summit, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini, reflected on their journey from facing regulatory scrutiny to securing a seat at the table for national cryptocurrency policy discussions.
A Year of Drastic Change
Crypto advocate and White House crypto czar David Sacks highlighted the stark contrast in the twins’ circumstances.
“I think you said something earlier that I thought was really profound,” Sacks said to Cameron Winklevoss. “You said that a year ago, you thought it would be more likely that you’d end up in jail than at the White House.”
Cameron clarified that it was actually his twin brother, Tyler, who had made the statement, adding:
“We never thought that we’d get attacked the way we did in our backyard after trying to do the right thing for so many years and always trying to raise the bar with respect to regulations.”
Despite their challenges, the Winklevoss twins have always believed that the U.S. should lead in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency innovation. “It’s ours to lead and win,” Cameron added.
Regulatory Scrutiny Over Gemini Earn
Gemini came under intense regulatory scrutiny over its Gemini Earn program, which allowed users to earn interest by lending their crypto assets to Genesis Global Capital, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG).
When Genesis halted withdrawals in November 2022 following the collapse of FTX, Gemini Earn users were left unable to access roughly $900 million in funds. The crisis escalated in January 2023 when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Gemini and Genesis, alleging that Gemini Earn was an unregistered securities offering.
Additionally, a public feud between the Winklevoss twins and DCG CEO Barry Silbert intensified the situation, with the twins accusing Silbert of misleading them and the public regarding Genesis’s financial health.
In August 2023, Gemini, Genesis, and DCG reached an agreement to recover some funds for affected users, but the reputational and regulatory damage to Gemini was significant.
Shifting Regulatory Landscape Under Trump
In 2024, Genesis agreed to pay a $21 million civil penalty to settle charges of engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through its crypto lending program.
At the time, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stated:
“This settlement builds on previous actions to make clear that crypto lending platforms need to comply with securities laws. It’s not optional. It’s the law.”
However, the regulatory landscape has changed dramatically under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Gensler is no longer at the helm of the SEC. Mark T. Uyeda is now acting chairman until the Senate votes on Trump nominee Paul Atkins for the role. Both Uyeda and Atkins are widely regarded as pro-crypto, and since Trump’s election, numerous lawsuits and investigations into crypto firms—including those against Coinbase, Kraken, and Yuga Labs—have been dropped.
Bitcoin’s Market Movement Amid White House Support
The Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance has come at a time when Bitcoin’s price has been highly volatile. Recently, Bitcoin dropped below the $85,000 level, triggering concerns among investors.
Technical analyst Rekt Capital noted that Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) hit 23.93—matching levels seen during the 2022 bear market. Historically, such oversold conditions have led to price recoveries.
“Throughout this cycle, each visit into sub-25 RSI resulted in a trend reversal to the upside over time,” Rekt Capital observed.
As of the latest check, Bitcoin is trading at $83,550, down 3.38%.
A Bright Future for Crypto?
The Winklevoss twins’ journey from facing regulatory crackdowns to being welcomed at the White House signals a seismic shift in how cryptocurrency is perceived at the highest levels of government. With Trump’s administration actively shaping pro-crypto policies, the industry could be on the brink of its most transformative period yet.
For now, as the White House continues its pro-Bitcoin push, the crypto world watches closely to see how this new era unfolds.
