Mango DAO, the collective running the Mango Markets protocol, is looking to settle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for $223,228. But there’s more to the deal.
The DAO is planning to destroy its MNGO governance token and push to get it delisted from exchanges. Mango Markets once thrived on the Solana blockchain before getting hammered by a $110 million exploit in 2022.
The proposal to settle has already passed the required vote threshold among DAO members, meaning it’s got the backing to go forward.
If the SEC agrees, Mango DAO will cough up the fine and begin wiping out all MNGO tokens it holds. This includes not only what’s in their possession now but any tokens they might get their hands on later.
Token holders have had the power to vote on changes and decide how to use the DAO’s treasury funds. But with this proposal, the token’s days seem numbered.
As things stand, Mango DAO holds the majority of MNGO tokens. According to CoinGecko, there are still 1.3 billion MNGO tokens floating around, worth about $19.5 million.
But if the settlement goes through, those tokens will be worthless. The DAO’s legal representative, a company called CyberByte sp. z.o.o, is the one handling this settlement proposal.
Back in October 2022, Avraham Eisenberg, a crypto trader with a knack for controversy, exploited Mango Markets and made off with $110 million. The fallout was swift.
In January 2023, the SEC charged Eisenberg with fraud and market manipulation related to the attack. By April, he was found guilty.
Following the charges against Eisenberg, U.S. regulators started sniffing around Mango Markets. These inquiries haven’t been made public, so it’s unclear if the idea to destroy MNGO tokens came from the regulators or if it was the DAO’s own attempt to get ahead of any potential trouble.
In the settlement proposal, Brzeziński mentioned that the regulators had been poking around since last year, but he didn’t spill any further details.
