DeFi
Eisenberg found guilty of fraud in $110 million Mango Markets operation dealing major blow to DeFi – DL News

- Avraham Eisenberg, the trader who operated the DeFi protocol Mango Markets, was sentenced on Thursday.
- Jurors rejected Eisenberg’s code-is-the-law defense.
A federal jury on Thursday convicted crypto trader Avraham Eisenberg of fraud and market manipulation for his $110 million exploit of the Solana-based DeFi protocol. Mango Markets, according to Bloomberg.
The verdict could embolden prosecutors who have been reluctant to bring charges against traders who profit from poorly designed DeFi protocols, according to crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro.
During closing arguments Wednesday, Eisenberg’s attorney said the October 2022 heist was a “successful and legal business strategy” that exploited a flaw in Mango Markets’ design.
But jurors sided with prosecutors, who argued that Eisenberg’s actions amounted to old-fashioned fraud and market manipulation, even if they took place on a blockchain.
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Eisenberg was convicted of commodity fraud, commodity market manipulation and wire fraud, Bloomberg reported.
The verdict was a blow to DeFi’s code-is-law philosophy, Shapiro said.
“He was definitely guilty of market manipulation on the price of MNGO on [centralised exchanges] – I don’t see any problem with it,” Shapiro said DL Newsreferring to a token issued by Mango Markets.
But Shapiro said it’s unclear whether Eisenberg actually defrauded Mango users.
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“I agree more with the defense: You can’t defraud someone if you don’t lie to them or they don’t trust your lies,” he said.
Eisenberg’s diagram
Eisenberg was charged with market manipulation in December 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York after negotiating with himself to inflate the value of MNGO.
He then used MNGO perpetual as collateral to borrow cryptocurrencies worth approximately $110 million from Mango Markets users with “no intention of repaying them,” according to prosecutors.
Eisenberg infamously claimed on social media that his actions amounted to a “highly profitable business strategy.” He used Mango Markets as it was designed, he said, “even though the development team did not fully anticipate all the consequences.”
His attorney, Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP, echoed that sentiment during closing arguments Wednesday.
Eisenberg succeeded in driving up the price of MNGO, Klein conceded. But there was nothing wrong with withdrawing crypto from Mango Markets for the inflated value of MNGO perpetuals – that’s how the protocol was built.
Mango Markets “literally took a contribution and used it,” Klein said. “It was automatic.”
Additionally, Mango Markets did not specify any terms of service before the exploit, Klein said. The rules were written into the code and everyone used the protocol at their own risk.
Closing arguments
In their closing argument Wednesday, prosecutors sought to cast doubt on the notion that Eisenberg ever thought his actions were legal.
Among other things, Eisenberg fled to Israel the day he was denounced by independent journalist Christopher Brunet. And computer records obtained by prosecutors show that Eisenberg searched online for information about “criminal and regulatory enforcement of market manipulation” and a “list of Israeli extraditions.”
More importantly, prosecutors said, a crime is a crime, even if it occurs on a blockchain. Eisenberg illegally manipulated the price of MNGO and effectively defrauded Mango Markets and its users when he used the inflated price of MNGO to dump the protocol.
“He must have lied, he must have cheated the system to get the money out,” one of the prosecutors said. “Just because something is possible doesn’t mean it’s legal.”
Defense of the code is the law
The trial was one of the first to put crypto’s code-is-law ethics before a judge and jury.
The concept is sacrosanct among some in the industry, who believe that smart contracts – the self-executing software that powers blockchain-based applications – are fairer than the seemingly arbitrary and ad hoc rules of most traditional organizations .
Mikko Ohtamaa, CEO of trading protocol DeFi Trading Strategy, disputed prosecutors’ characterization of the exploit.
Mango Markets was easily exploitable and its design – including the method used to determine the price of MNGO – was directly in the protocol’s smart contract.
Its users “could not have participated without agreeing on this,” Ohtamaa said.
In other words, they should have known that such a thing could happen, and they assumed that risk when they used the protocol.
Four years ago, users of Compound, a lending and borrowing protocol on Ethereum, suffered a similar exploit.
“No one was prosecuted and everyone suffered their losses like a man,” Ohtamaa said.
Defective accused
But Eisenberg was a flawed defendant: After the exploit, he attempted to blackmail the cooperative that governed the Mango Markets protocol, and he purchased the FTX account of a Ukrainian woman in order to carry out some of the transactions associated with the exploit . Prosecutors also say they found child pornography on one of his cellphones.
“Avi was blackmailing, using fake KYCs and all kinds of fraud, which makes it more difficult to defend his interests,” Ohtamaa said, using the acronym to know his client.
Shapiro said some DeFi teams may “embrace” the outcome of the trial.
“This means they could have more legal recourse if it turns out their code or risk parameters are flawed,” he said.
And it could advise its own clients to create terms of service in light of the verdict.
“I think there are things DeFi teams can do to clarify what a smart contract is and isn’t, and putting that in the terms of service can make sense,” he said. he declares.
“One wonders what the result would have been if [Mango Markets] DID had terms of service and it was very clear that there was no consideration for the transactions.
Eisenberg faces up to 10 years in prison for commodity fraud and commodity manipulation, and up to 20 years for wire fraud. He will be sentenced on July 29.
Aleks Gilbert is a DeFi correspondent with DL News. Do you have any advice? Send him an email to [email protected].
DeFi
Cryptocurrency and defi firms lost $266 million to hackers in July

In July 2024, the cryptocurrency industry suffered a series of devastating attacks, resulting in losses amounting to approximately $266 million.
Blockchain Research Firm Peck Shield revealed in an X post On August 1, attacks on decentralized protocols in July reached $266 million, a 51% increase from $176 million reported in June.
The most significant breach last month involved WazirX, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which lost $230 million in what appears to be a highly sophisticated attack by North Korean hackers. The attack was a major blow to the stock market, leading to a break in withdrawals. Subsequently, WazirX launched a program in order to recover the funds.
Another notable incident involved Compound Finance, a decentralized lending protocol, which suffered a governance attack by a group known as the “Golden Boys,” who passed a proposal who allocated 499,000 COMP tokens – valued at $24 million – to a vault under their control.
The cross-chain liquidity aggregation protocol LI.FI also fell victim On July 16, a hack resulted in losses of $9.73 million. Additionally, Bittensor, a decentralized machine learning network, was one of the first protocols to suffer an exploit last month, loming $8 million on July 3 due to an attack targeting its staking mechanism.
Meanwhile, Rho Markets, a lending protocol, suffered a $7.6 million breach. However, in an interesting twist, the exploiters research to return the stolen funds, claiming the incident was not a hack.
July 31, reports The Terra blockchain protocol was also hacked, resulting in a loss of $6.8 million across multiple cryptocurrencies. As crypto.news reported, the attack exploited a reentrancy vulnerability that had been identified a few months ago.
Dough Finance, a liquidity protocol, lost $1.8 million in Ethereum (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC) to a flash loan attack on July 12. Similarly, Minterest, a lending and borrowing protocol, saw a loss of $1.4 million due to exchange rate manipulation in one of its markets.
Decentralized staking platform MonoSwap also reported a loss of $1.3 million following an attack that allowed the perpetrators to withdraw the liquidity staked on the protocol. Finally, Delta Prime, another decentralized finance platform, suffered a $1 million breach, although $900,000 of the stolen funds was later recovered.
DeFi
Centralized crypto exchanges are slowly losing ground to their DeFi counterparts

Centralized crypto exchanges are slowly losing ground to their DeFi counterparts, according to an in-depth data analysis conducted by Decrypt.
DeFiLlama’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume data and CoinGecko’s total cryptocurrency trading volume data show that the percentage of cryptocurrency trading volume occurring on DEXs relative to total trading volume has increased from 4.6% in February to over 7% this month. This is an increase in the share of trading volume driven by DEXs of over 52%.
Source: Adrian Zmudzinski
Kunal Goel, a senior research analyst at Messari, told Decrypt that several factors are fueling the growth in DEX market share. He cited “the growth of meme coins and long-tail assets” as one of the reasons, explaining that they tend to list first on DEXs and only appear on centralized exchanges much later.if they last that long.
“The onchain user experience has improved with low fees and high throughput on Solana and Ethereum L2,” he added, highlighting advancements making decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions increasingly easier to use.
DeFiLlama data further shows that over the past 24 hours, DEX volume accounted for 22% of total trading volume. The crypto price aggregator notes that this percentage is meant to represent the dominance of decentralized exchanges over aggregated decentralized exchanges and centralized exchanges.
So far in 2024, DEX volume has seen a slow and steady increase.
CEX and DEX trading volume increased from $133.5 billion in January to $179.5 billion this month, an increase of about 34%. The year-to-date high was recorded in March, when CEX and DEX volumes saw a sharp increase, reaching $4.8 trillion and $266.89 billion, respectively.
Goel noted that at the time, “Bitcoin hit new all-time highs in March and trading activity is generally positively correlated with price and sentiment.” Looking ahead, he expects centralized exchanges to move on-chain and disrupt their own business models before others can. He added that “Base and BNB Chain are the most prominent examples of this.”
TradingView also shows a DeFi market cap dominance chart, in percentage terms. Currently at 3.86%, it fell from 4.47% on January 1 and hit a 2024 high of 4.81% on February 25. Goel noted that this was unexpected since “DEX volumes are a key driver of DEX value, so it’s a bit contradictory.”
Challenge is an umbrella term for a group of financial tools built on a blockchain, including DEXs, exchanges that operate primarily on-chain. The primary goal of DeFi is to allow anyone with internet access to lend, borrow, and bank without relying on intermediaries.
Similarly, the main goal of DEXs is to allow anyone with internet access to trade or even provide liquidity in exchange for a stake. DeFi and DEXs are one of the main areas of focus in decentralized application (dapp) development, which have seen considerable adoption this year.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
DeFi
Pump.Fun Overtakes Ethereum in Daily Revenue: A New Leader in DeFi

In a remarkable turn of events, Pump.Fun, a memecoin launchpad, has surpassed all other platforms in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, achieving the highest gross revenue in the last 24 hours. According to data from DeFiLlama, Pump.Fun amassed $867,429 during this period, surpassing Ethereum’s $844,276. This achievement underscores the growing influence of memecoin infrastructure within DeFi.
Pump.Fun Revenue Milestones
The impressive revenue numbers go beyond daily performance. Pump.Fun is generating $315 million in annualized revenue, averaging $906,160 per day over the past week. This revenue surge is largely due to the recent memecoin frenzy, with Solana-based memecoins being particularly popular among on-chain enthusiasts. The platform’s user-friendly interface allows non-technical users to quickly launch their own tokens, spending as little as $2 without needing to provide any initial liquidity.
How Pump.Fun works
Pump.Fun’s operating model is designed to facilitate the use and rapid launch of tokens. Users can create new tokens in minutes, which are then allowed to trade along a bonding curve until they reach a market cap of approximately $75,000. At this point, the bonding curve is burned on Raydium, establishing a secure liquidity pool. The platform generates revenue through a 1% fee on transactions made on the platform. However, once a token is bonded and burned on Raydium, Pump.Fun stops charging this fee.
Ethereum: Traditional Power
Despite its daily revenues, Ethereum remains a cornerstone of the DeFi ecosystem. It is the blockchain of Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $395 billion. Ethereum powers many applications and digital assets, backing over $60 billion worth of smart contracts. Revenue generation on Ethereum is done through transaction fees, called gas, which are paid in ETH for executing transactions and smart contracts.
Comparative analysis of revenue models
While Ethereum’s revenue model relies on gas fees for transactions and smart contract executions, Pump.Fun takes a different approach. By enabling easy and low-cost token launches, Pump.Fun caters to a broad audience, including non-technical users. This inclusiveness, combined with the excitement surrounding memecoins, has led to rapid revenue growth. The 1% transaction fee ensures continued revenue generation until the token transitions to Raydium, creating a sustainable business model.
Memecoin frenzy
The recent rise in popularity of memecoins has been a major contributor to Pump.Fun’s success. Memecoins, particularly those based on Solana, have captivated the DeFi community, generating substantial activity on platforms like Pump.Fun. This trend highlights a shift in DeFi dynamics, where niche platforms catering to specific interests can achieve significant revenue milestones.
Future prospects
Pump.Fun’s recent successes suggest a potential shift in the DeFi landscape. As the platform continues to attract users with its simple token launch process and low-cost entry point, it could solidify its position as a leader in the DeFi space. The memecoin phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down, indicating that platforms like Pump.Fun could continue to see robust growth.
In conclusion, Pump.Fun’s ability to surpass Ethereum in terms of daily revenue underscores the evolving nature of the DeFi space. By providing a user-friendly platform for launching memecoins, Pump.Fun has tapped into a lucrative niche, demonstrating the potential for niche platforms to thrive alongside traditional blockchain giants like Ethereum. This development signals a broader trend toward diversification and innovation within the DeFi ecosystem, with new entrants challenging established players through unique value propositions and targeted services.
DeFi
$10 Billion Venture Firm May Target 10x Opportunities in Ripple (XRP) and This DeFi Token

According to recent reports, one of the largest venture capital firms is looking for new opportunities in the cryptocurrency space as Bitcoin (BTC) attempts to break its all-time high and start a new bull run in the cryptocurrency market. They are balancing risk with low-risk, low-reward and high-risk, high-reward opportunities.
The first investment candidate is a top cryptocurrency, Ripple (XRP); it doesn’t have much growth potential because it’s already a large cap. Another scenario the firm is targeting is DTX ExchangeThe new hybrid exchange is expected to revolutionize the foreign exchange industry. According to analysts, its growth potential is immense and the risk is also very limited due to its low price.
Market is bullish as Trump wants to make US a Bitcoin (BTC) superpower
Over the past 30 days, Bitcoin (BTC) has increased by about 10%, and one of the catalysts for this price increase has been Donald Trump recently speaking out as a crypto pro. Presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised to make the United States the world leader in cryptocurrencies if elected in November. Speaking at the Bitcoin2024 conference in Nashville, Trump compared Bitcoin (BTC) to the steel industry of 100 years ago, highlighting its potential.
Trump’s plans include firing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and immediately creating a “Presidential Advisory Council on Bitcoin (BTC) and Cryptocurrencies.” He stressed the importance of American leadership in the cryptocurrency space, saying, “I am laying out my plan to ensure that the United States is the cryptocurrency capital of the planet and the Bitcoin (BTC) superpower of the world.”
$600 Million Worth of Ripple (XRP) to Be Released in August
Ripple (XRP), the company behind the XRP Ledger blockchain and its native token Ripple (XRP), unlocks up to 1 billion tokens on the first day of every month. Since 2017, they have used several major escrow wallets, including Ripple (XRP) (24) and Ripple (XRP) (25), to evenly distribute these monthly unlocks.
However, Ripple (XRP) often relocks a large portion of newly issued XRP. For example, on June 1, Ripple (XRP) relocked 800 million XRP but still sold about 300 million XRP, worth $182 million at the time.
While Ripple (XRP) releases up to 1 billion XRP tokens each month, the actual amount released into circulation is typically much lower due to this re-escrow process, as noted in a 2017 XRP Ledger blog post.
DTX Exchange Follows Bitcoin (BTC) Path
The main target of large private equity firms is the DTX exchange (DTX), the reason being a clearly high utility like Bitcoin (BTC). This project has attracted global attention thanks to its exceptional pre-sale performance, offering early buyers a 100% return on investment and raising over $1 million. Projections suggest that this figure will reach $2 million by the end of August 2024.
DTX Exchange offers a revolutionary hybrid trading platform, combining the best features of centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges. Traders can enjoy a seamless experience with access to over 120,000 asset classes, no KYC verification upon registration and ultra-fast transaction speeds of 0.04 seconds.
These benefits have attracted traders to this new cryptocurrency exchange. Currently, in Phase 2 of its pre-sale, DTX Exchange is listed at $0.04, which is double its starting price of $0.02. Market analysts predict that the upcoming listing of DTX Exchange on the Level 1 CEX in late 2024 could trigger a 100x bullish rally, making DTX Exchange the top cryptocurrency exchange to watch.
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