CFTC sues Mango Markets exploiter for alleged price manipulation

In the wake of increased regulatory scrutiny of illicit cryptocurrency-related activities, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently filed a lawsuit against Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg for alleged price manipulation. The lawsuit alleged that the crypto trader in October 2022 manipulated the price of swaps contracts offered by decentralized digital asset exchange Mango Markets, culminating in the misappropriation of $114M. Eisenberg was said to have been arrested last month by the U.S. Department of Justice in Puerto Rico on fraud charges. The CFTC pointed out that Eisenberg allegedly used two anonymous Mango Markets accounts to artificially inflate the price of perpetual swaps. The inflated value of the swaps were then used as collateral to borrow and withdraw $114M from Mango Markets in the form of stablecoins USD Coin ( USDC-USD ) and tether ( USDT-USD ) and other digital assets, which were derived from other investor's deposits. The regulator is requiring Eisenberg to pay a civil monetary penalty and is also seeking trading bans. The charges brought by the CFTC come as various other regulators increasingly crack down on blockchain-based attacks to safeguard customers. Just last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the CoinDeal creator over a $45M crypto investment fraud .