⚖️ Man Go Jail

It was a bold move. Exploit a protocol’s weaknesses for more than $100 million and then tell the world. But with fame comes scrutiny, as Avraham Eisenberg has just found out:

• Back in October, decentralised exchange Mango Markets was drained by hackers. The team tricked the protocol by using two accounts and price manipulation.
• A week later, Avraham Eisenberg posted a tweet claiming responsibility for the attack. Despite it leaving Mango insolvent, he added that it was all done using “legal market actions“.
• The Solana-based system does seem to have steadied the ship somewhat since. Eisenberg returned $67 million, which, combined with the insurance fund, allowed Mango to make users whole.
• But that hasn’t stopped Damian Williams from taking action, who seems to be on a roll recently.
• The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York filed a complaint against Eisenberg yesterday. The defendant was arrested on Boxing Day in connection with market manipulation offences.
• This is not the first or last controversy surrounding Eisenberg. He allegedly stole user funds when he was the lead developer of Fortress DAO, was behind a hack on Fuse in April, and attempted to replicate his Mango attack on Aave in November.

There’s a parallel with Dostoevsky here: delusions of grandeur and not being able to cope with no one knowing you got away with it. But with crime, comes punishment.