Mango Markets, along with Mango DAO, has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over charges of unregistered sale of MNGO tokens. The SEC accused Mango DAO and a related entity, Blockworks Foundation, of engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of crypto assets on the Mango Markets platform.
The SEC's charges also extended to Blockworks Foundation and Mango Labs LLC for operating as a broker without proper registration. All three parties have agreed to settle the charges, incurring a total penalty of $700,000, and they will destroy their MNGO tokens.
Jorge G. Tenreiro, acting chief of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, emphasized that the designation of a project as a DAO does not exempt it from compliance obligations. He stated, “Our view has been that the label ‘DAO’ does not change the reality of who is behind a project, what activities they engage in, or whether their activities need to be registered.”
In its complaint, the SEC indicated that SOL, another token available on Mango Markets, is classified as a security. This classification aligns with the SEC's previous stance in a separate lawsuit involving crypto exchange Binance.
This settlement follows a significant incident two years ago involving Avraham Eisenberg, who was convicted for exploiting Mango Markets, resulting in a loss of approximately $116 million in funds.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
