Crypto trader’s criminal trial set to test ‘code is law’ claim

The trial will apparently be the first time a US criminal jury will weigh what type of “DeFi” transactions are legal. — Bloomberg

NEW YORK: A jailed trader accused of stealing US$110mil on the Mango Markets exchange faces a criminal trial this week that will test the reach of a US crackdown on cryptocurrencies.Prosecutors charged Avraham Eisenberg with manipulating Mango Markets futures contracts on Oct 11, 2022, to boost the price of swaps by 1,300% in 20 minutes.

He then “borrowed” from the exchange against the inflated value of those contracts, a move the government claims was a theft.