Mango DAO and Mango Markets agree to settle SEC charges involving unregistered sale of MNGO tokens
Quick Take
- Mango Labs, Mango DAO and Blockworks Foundation agreed to settle the charges and pay a total of $700,000 in penalties.
- The agency also said it settled charges against Blockworks Foundation and crypto platform Mango Labs LLC for acting as a broker without being registered.
Mango DAO agreed to settle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after being charged for selling MNGO tokens unlawfully.
The SEC's charges were against Mango DAO and a Panama entity, Blockworks Foundation, for "engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of crypto assets" of governance tokens on the Mango Markets platform. The agency also said it settled charges against Blockworks Foundation and Mango Labs LLC for acting as a broker without being registered.
All three — Mango Labs, Mango DAO and Blockworks Foundation — agreed to settle the charges and pay a total of $700,000 in penalties. The three also agreed to destroy their MNGO tokens.
“Since the inception of our crypto enforcement program, our view has been that the label ‘DAO’ does not change the reality of who is behind a project, what activities they engage in, or whether their activities need to be registered. Nor does engaging in intermediation of securities with the aid of automated or open source software change the nature of such activities,” said Jorge G. Tenreiro, acting chief of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, said in a statement on Friday.
The SEC also mentioned in its complaint that SOL, which is sold on Mango Markets, is a security. The agency previously said SOL, among other cryptocurrencies were securities in a separate lawsuit involving crypto exchange Binance.
The settlement comes two years after now-convicted Avraham Eisenberg was accused of exploiting Mango Markets, causing the platform to lose about $116 million worth of funds.
Update: Sept. 27, 7:40 p.m. UTC to include details throughout
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