Cryptocurrency trader Avi Eisenberg may testify in his criminal products fraud and manipulation trial, his defense team announced Thursday. Although the government's case is nearing its conclusion, the government has not yet made a final decision on the matter.
The 28-year-old crypto trader will face up to 30% in prison if a 15-member jury convicts him of all three charges stemming from a trade in October 2022 that earned him at least $110 on DeFi trading platform Mango Markets. He could be sentenced to 20 years in prison. 1 million dollars in various cryptocurrencies. The government has sought to portray the trade as an illegal windfall from market manipulation, but the defense insists it was a legitimate trading strategy.
Prosecutors are nearing the end of their week-long case against Eisenberg. On Thursday, they called special agents and expert witnesses to explain how Mr. Eisenberg drove the prices of AscendX, FTX and Serum's MNGO tokens to inflate the value of the perpetual contracts he was trading on the decentralized Mango Market. He asked the jury to explain how he had lifted the gun. exchange. And they said he borrowed and withdrew well over $100 million from the exchange.
The government's case against Eisenberg comes in the aftermath of a deal in which Mango Markets founder Dafid Durairaj negotiated a return of $67 million to the platform, in exchange for a promise not to press charges against Eisenberg. has not yet been reached. Prosecutors told the court on Thursday that they no longer plan to summon Durairaj to court.
The development complicated the defense's plan to question Mr. Durairaj under oath, even though he had not yet been served with a subpoena. Lead defense attorney Sanford Talkin asked Judge Aram Subramanian whether the court could compel Durairaj's lawyer, Raphael Jacobi, to accept a subpoena on his client's behalf.
