Solana (SOL)-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Mango Markets is closing its doors after dealing with a slew of regulatory issues last year.
The DEX announced its closure on Saturday and issued proposals aimed at making lending on the platform economically unviable.
“Mango markets will close. It is time for users to close their positions.”
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have launched a dual investigation into Mango Markets after crypto trader Avraham Eisenberg exploited the protocol for $110 million worth of digital assets in 2022.
The SEC alleged that the DEX’s Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) circumvented registration provisions and deprived investors of crucial protections.
The regulator said Mango DAO has raised more than $70 million from unregistered offers and sales of MNGO tokens, and also alleges that affiliates Blockworks Foundation and Mango Labs LLC are engaged in unregistered brokerage activities.
Mango DAO, Blockworks Foundation and Mango Labs agreed in September to pay the SEC a civil penalty of nearly $700,000, although they neither admitted nor denied the allegations. They also agreed to destroy their MNGO tokens and request the removal of MNGO tokens from trading platforms. Additionally, the DAO voted to settle $500,000 with the CFTC.
Last April, a jury convicted Eisenberg of commodities fraud, commodity market manipulation and wire fraud. His sentencing hearing was recently postponed until April 2025.
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