David Edwards
Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange, has declared that it will not hire MIT graduates unless the university breaks off its relationship with former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
Gemini’s co-founder and CEO, Tyler Winklevoss, made the declaration in a Jan. 30 post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “As long as MIT has any association with Gary Gensler, Gemini will not hire any graduates from this school.” The employment ban also applies to Gemini’s summer internship program, further solidifying the business’s opposition to Gensler’s regulatory sway.
The Conflict Between Gemini and the SEC
At least since March 2023, when the business paid $21 million to resolve claims that it had marketed unregistered securities through its now-defunct Gemini Earn program in collaboration with bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis, Gemini has been at odds with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Gensler oversaw a vigorous regulatory onslaught on the cryptocurrency industry, including multiple enforcement proceedings, until resigning as SEC Chair on January 20, 2025. After leaving, he rejoined MIT as a professor, where he taught from 2018 to 2021 before being hired by the Biden administration. He specialized on artificial intelligence in finance, fintech, and regulatory policy.
Support for Winklevoss’s action has come from individuals such as Bitcoin activist Erik Voorhees, who urged other cryptocurrency companies to join the MIT graduate boycott until Gensler is fired.
The crypto business has previously retaliated against former SEC officials. Following the hiring of former SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal, Coinbase terminated its partnership with Milbank, a law firm, in December 2023. In the absence of explicit rules, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong declared in public that his company would not work with companies that employed people who have tried to “unlawfully kill” the cryptocurrency industry.
Conflicting Views in the Sector
Not everyone in the cryptocurrency industry supports the employment prohibition. Sergey Gorbunov of Axelar Network said his company is still open to hiring MIT graduates and opposed penalizing MIT students over the industry’s conflict with Gensler.
Instead of rejecting all MIT grads, other critics, such as Jiasun Li, a professor at George Mason University, proposed a more focused boycott that would exclude students who enroll in Gensler’s class.
Winklevoss: “Gensler’s Crypto Damage Is Unreparable”
In a Nov. 16 X post, Winklevoss reiterated his objection to Gensler, saying that any organization that hires the former SEC Chair “betrays the crypto industry.” He went on to say, “No amount of apology can undo the damage he has done to our industry and our country.”
Mark Uyeda, who is presently the chair of the SEC, voted in favor of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 with Commissioner Hester Peirce. With Gensler gone, Peirce is now in charge of the SEC’s crypto task force, suggesting a possible change in the agency’s regulatory strategy.
