A few months can feel like a lifetime in crypto. However, it probably hasn\u2019t felt like long enough for Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg, who was taken into custody in Puerto Rico this week. Eisenberg gained notoriety on crypto Twitter after describing his nine-figure exploit of the Solana-based protocol as \u201ca highly profitable trading strategy.\u201d On Twitter and across other outlets, Eisenberg was insistent that his exploit was simply taking advantage of the protocol\u2019s code, and that his actions weren\u2019t illegal or even immoral.<\/p>\n
However, U.S. federal prosectors seem to disagree.<\/p>\n
An Exploiter\u2019s Endeavor<\/p>\n
In October, Eisenberg exploited Solana-based Mango Markets<\/a> and made headlines not just for the exploit \u2013 which was essentially a \u2018looping\u2019 exploit, manipulating the price of the MNGO token \u2013 but also for the outlandishly-sized \u2018bug bounty\u2019 that Eisenberg managed to walk away with. B<\/p>\n ug bounties are commonplace for exploiters \u2013 often \u2018white hat\u2019 exploiters who look to take advantage of code for the \u2018better of society\u2019 \u2013 but never have amounted to a payout this large. While Eisenberg attempted to include language in a Mango protocol proposal that could shield him from \u201ccriminal investigations,\u201d that didn\u2019t slow the U.S. DoJ and FBI from looking into his activity.<\/p>\n At the time of our October publishing on the matter, it was unclear if Mango would be able to make a recovery; little did we know how much damage the Solana ecosystem would face in the 60 days following that event. Since the exploiter\u2019s endeavor, Solana\u2019s defi landscape has crumbled, FTX fallout has impacted the chain drastically, and it\u2019s once flagship NFT community is facing intense pressure with the departure of signature projects DeGods and y00ts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n Mango Madness, Continued<\/p>\n Court documents have been unveiled this week, shedding light on Eisenberg\u2019s arrest in Puerto Rico. An initial filing<\/a>, dated December 23, 2022 and released this week, federal prosecutors outline two separate charges surrounding Eisenberg\u2019s \u201cscheme involving the intentional and artificial manipulation of the price of perpetual futures contracts\u201d on Mango. The 14-page filing details how Eisenberg manipulated MNGO perps, detailing his movement between wallets.<\/p>\n The filing closes by mentioning that Eisenberg attempted to flee law enforcement by swiftly departing the U.S. to Israel, and highlights the belief that Eisenberg was well aware of the illegality of his actions, based on Twitter activity. The document is rounded out by a request from the FBI agent to issue a warrant for Eisenberg\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n A second filing<\/a>, dated December 27, confirms his arrest in Puerto Rico. Crypto Twitter rejoiced with memes surrounding Eisenberg\u2019s arrest.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/p>\n A few months can feel like a lifetime in crypto. However, it probably hasn\u2019t felt like long enough for Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg, who was taken into custody in Puerto Rico this week. Eisenberg gained notoriety on crypto Twitter after describing his nine-figure exploit of the Solana-based protocol as \u201ca highly profitable trading strategy.\u201d On Twitter and across other outlets, Eisenberg was insistent that his exploit was simply taking advantage of the protocol\u2019s code, and that his actions weren\u2019t illegal or even immoral.<\/p>\n However, U.S. federal prosectors seem to disagree.<\/p>\n An Exploiter\u2019s Endeavor<\/p>\n In October, Eisenberg exploited Solana-based Mango Markets<\/a> and made headlines not just for the exploit \u2013 which was essentially a \u2018looping\u2019 exploit, manipulating the price of the MNGO token \u2013 but also for the outlandishly-sized \u2018bug bounty\u2019 that Eisenberg managed to walk away with. B<\/p>\n ug bounties are commonplace for exploiters \u2013 often \u2018white hat\u2019 exploiters who look to take advantage of code for the \u2018better of society\u2019 \u2013 but never have amounted to a payout this large. While Eisenberg attempted to include language in a Mango protocol proposal that could shield him from \u201ccriminal investigations,\u201d that didn\u2019t slow the U.S. DoJ and FBI from looking into his activity.<\/p>\n At the time of our October publishing on the matter, it was unclear if Mango would be able to make a recovery; little did we know how much damage the Solana ecosystem would face in the 60 days following that event. Since the exploiter\u2019s endeavor, Solana\u2019s defi landscape has crumbled, FTX fallout has impacted the chain drastically, and it\u2019s once flagship NFT community is facing intense pressure with the departure of signature projects DeGods and y00ts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mango Madness, Continued<\/p>\n Court documents have been unveiled this week, shedding light on Eisenberg\u2019s arrest in Puerto Rico. An initial filing<\/a>, dated December 23, 2022 and released this week, federal prosecutors outline two separate charges surrounding Eisenberg\u2019s \u201cscheme involving the intentional and artificial manipulation of the price of perpetual futures contracts\u201d on Mango. The 14-page filing details how Eisenberg manipulated MNGO perps, detailing his movement between wallets.<\/p>\n The filing closes by mentioning that Eisenberg attempted to flee law enforcement by swiftly departing the U.S. to Israel, and highlights the belief that Eisenberg was well aware of the illegality of his actions, based on Twitter activity. The document is rounded out by a request from the FBI agent to issue a warrant for Eisenberg\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n