Mango Markets to Shut Down After SEC Settlement

Mango Markets, a DeFi lending platform on the Solana blockchain, is set to cease operations in the wake of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a $117 million exploit in 2022.

On Jan. 11, Mango Markets revealed through its X account that it is ‘shutting down’ and advises users to close any outstanding positions. The shutdown is planned for Jan. 13 at 8 P.M. UTC.

According to DefiLlama, Mango Markets’ total value locked (TVL) stands at around $6 million, representing a 97% drop from its all-time high of $210 million in Nov. 2021.

Under the terms of the SEC settlement, the Mango DAO agreed to pay $700,000 in civil penalty charges, destroy MNGO tokens, and petition exchanges to delist the tokens.

What Happened to Mango Markets?

In October 2022, a trader known as Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg exploited the lending protocol and manipulated the price of MNGO, draining over $100 million from the DEX platform. Eisenberg returned around $67 million but kept the remaining $40 million, leading to legal action.

Eisenberg claims all the actions were legal, and he was just part of a network that "operated a highly profitable trading strategy." Eisenberg remains in custody and faces a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.