Another hefty fine might be looming over Solana-based decentralized exchange Mango Markets, as it scrambles to put an end to a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigation with a $500,000 settlement offer.
In a proposal submitted on Sept. 22, Mango Markets’ legal team suggested paying half a million dollars to resolve an “ongoing and nonpublic” CFTC investigation.
The charges?
Failing to register as a commodities exchange, offering services illegally to U.S. customers, and not implementing adequate Know Your Customer (KYC) measures.
According to the proposal, the CFTC is investigating Mango for serious violations, but the DAO representative was tight-lipped on specific details due to confidentiality agreements. However, they assured members that settling would prevent the CFTC from pursuing litigation against the DAO.
Also Read: Solana DEX Proposes Token Sacrifice To Settle SEC Case
If the settlement goes through, Mango DAO won’t admit or deny any guilt. The proposal is gaining massive support, with 123,475,000 votes in favor and zero opposition at the time of writing.
Interestingly, this isn’t Mango’s first rodeo with regulators. Just over a month ago, the DAO paid the SEC $670,000 in USD Coin (USDC) to settle allegations of selling unregistered securities, specifically their native MNGO token, in 2021.
These regulatory battles come after the exchange was hit with a massive $110 million exploit in October 2022, when trader Avraham Eisenberg manipulated the protocol. The incident not only led to Eisenberg’s fraud trial but also drew scrutiny from the SEC, DOJ, and CFTC.
With another $500K on the line, Mango Markets seems to be doing everything it can to keep regulators at bay.
