SEC also investigating Mango exploiter Eisenberg: CFTC Commissioner

Quick Take

  • The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating Avraham Eisenberg’s role in extracting $110 million from the Mango Markets protocol. 
  • Eisenberg has already been charged with various market manipulation offences by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating self-confessed Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg over his role in extracting $110 million from the decentralized protocol. 

Kristin Johnson, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission commissioner, noted the SEC's parallel investigation in a statement published Monday. The CFTC filed its charges against Eisenberg, alleging manipulation of the decentralized swaps markets.

A spokesperson for the SEC did not immediately respond to an email sent out of hours seeking comment.

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Eisenberg is currently in custody after the Department of Justice filed criminal charges against him last month. He admitted on Twitter to being responsible for draining most of Mango Markets' capital, arguing that his trading strategy was legal and used the protocol as designed. 

Investigators allege he illegally manipulated the price of Mango's own token, MNGO, to make substantial illicit profits.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Benjamin Robertson is senior newsletter writer at The Block, based in Oxford. He covers global crypto policy and regulation news. Before joining, he worked at Bloomberg News where he wrote about crypto, regulation and finance in Hong Kong, and later reported on private equity and asset management in London. Get in touch via email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @BMMRobertson

Editor

To contact the editor of this story:
Adam James at
[email protected]