Latest news with #AvrahamEisenberg
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge Overturns Convictions in Mango Markets Exploiter's Crypto Fraud Case
A U.S. judge has overturned the fraud and market manipulation convictions of Avraham Eisenberg, the crypto trader accused of draining $110 million from the now-defunct decentralized finance protocol Mango Markets. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled that prosecutors failed to prove Eisenberg made false representations to the platform. He also moved to acquit Eisenberg of wire fraud charges. The investor manipulated the price of Mango's native token MNGO with massive trades by more than 1,000% in 20 minutes before getting the protocol to allow him to borrow and withdraw $110 million in various cryptocurrencies, backed by the inflated collateral. Eisenberg's defense argued that the platform, which operated through smart contracts, allowed anyone to transact freely and that he simply exploited a vulnerability. The judge agreed, stating that Mango's permissionless structure meant that there 'was insufficient evidence of falsity' from prosecutors regarding Eisenberg's representation to Mango Markets. Eisenberg was arrested in December 2022, and while this case collapsed, he is still currently serving a four-year sentence handed out after he pleaded guilty to the possession of child sexual abuse material. 'From the beginning, we said this case was fatally flawed,' his attorney Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP said. 'We are very pleased for Avi that the judge granted our motion and dismissed the case.'
Bloomberg
24-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Crypto Trader's Convictions Vacated in Mango Markets Fraud Case
A trader charged in the first US case tied to cryptocurrency manipulation won a legal challenge to overturn his convictions for exploiting Mango Markets rules to steal $110 million from the exchange. US District Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday vacated Avraham Eisenberg's fraud and manipulation convictions and acquitted him of a third charge. The judge ruled that the trial evidence didn't support the jury's decision that Eisenberg had made false representations to Mango Markets, a decentralized finance platform run by smart contracts.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
HyperLiquid Delists JELLY After Vault Squeezed in $13M Tussle
whichHyperliquidity Provider (HLP), a market making vault that is a part of derivatives exchange HyperLiquid, faced a grueling loss after a trader allegedly manipulated the price of the JELLY token. HyperLiquid's native token (HYPE) fell by 20% after HLP's unrealized PNL temporarily stood at negative $13.5 million. According to Lookonchain, a trader that held $4.85 million of the JELLY token combined a short trader on HyperLiquid with on-chain spot buys, this liquidated the position on HyperLiquid and essentially meant HLP inherited that short position. HLP is an automated market making bot that ties in with the exchanges liquidation engine. The trader then aggressively bought JELLY on spot exchanges, pushing the price up and temporarily causing HLP's unrealized loss to stand at $13.5 million. Liquidity on decentralized exchanges is minimal, so moving price is relatively easy compared to HyperLiquid. Then, in an attempt to minimize losses HyperLiquid appeared to force close the JELLY market, settling it at $0.0095 as opposed to $0.50 that was being fed to oracles via decentralized exchanges. "After evidence of suspicious market activity, the validator set convened and voted to delist JELLY perps," HyperLiquid wrote on X. "All users apart from flagged addresses will be made whole from the Hyper Foundation. This will be done automatically in the coming days based on onchain data." Newfound Research CEO Corey Hoffstein questioned the legality of HyperLiquid's actions as social media descended into outrage. The trader who manipulated the JELLY market ended up with a small loss. HyperLiquid's delisting led to another player entering the mix: Binance. The largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume saw an opportunity and announced that it was listing futures tied to JELLY, causing spot prices to skyrocket by 560%. The case draws similarities to an exploit that occurred on Mango Markets in 2022, where a trader called Avraham Eisenberg created a "highly profitable trading strategy" that involved manipulating oracle prices to secure a gain on derivative markets. Sign in to access your portfolio
