The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reached a settlement with Mango Markets, a Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX), over alleged violations of securities laws.
What Happened?
The SEC claims that Mango Markets’ decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) sold MNGO tokens without registering them, which means investors didn’t get the proper protections. The SEC also alleges that Mango Labs and Blockworks Foundation, companies associated with Mango Markets, acted as unregistered brokers.
The Settlement
Mango Markets, Blockworks Foundation, and Mango Labs agreed to pay a $700,000 fine but didn’t admit or deny the SEC’s accusations. They also agreed to destroy their MNGO tokens and request that they be removed from trading platforms.
CFTC Settlement
Mango Markets is also in talks with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to settle a separate investigation. The proposed settlement would require Mango Markets to pay $500,000 and stop violating commodity regulations.
Background
The SEC and CFTC investigations started after a trader, Avraham Eisenberg, exploited a vulnerability in Mango Markets’ protocol in 2022, stealing $110 million worth of digital assets.
