Mango Markets Considers Settlement with SEC

Mango Markets, a DeFi platform on Solana, was drained of over $110 million by Avraham Eisenberg in 2022. The platform is now contemplating a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding allegations of violating U.S. securities laws.

Mango DAO, the governing body of the platform, initiated voting on the proposed “SEC Settlement Offer Proposal” on Monday. The proposal suggests that the entity would pay $223,228 in fines to the SEC treasury, destroy its MNGO token holdings, and seek delisting from trading platforms.

This proposal aims to resolve SEC allegations without litigation and without admitting any wrongdoing. It has already achieved a quorum with 106,717,813 votes, and the vote was unanimous in favor.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced about regulatory scrutiny facing Mango Markets, coinciding with Eisenberg’s trial for the exploit. Additionally, the platform is subject to investigations by the Department of Justice and the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission, which are not addressed in the current proposal.

Once a leading decentralized finance protocol on Solana, Mango has faced challenges since the exploit. During his trial, Eisenberg’s legal team argued that he executed a legal trading strategy allowed by the protocol, but he was found guilty of commodities fraud, manipulation, and wire fraud. He is now seeking to have his conviction overturned and a new trial granted.