Mistrial in $25 Million Ethereum ‘Sandwich Bot’ Case Puts Code and Value on Trial
A mistrial was declared in the $25 million Ethereum 'sandwich bot' case due to a deadlocked jury, leaving the legality of code-based exploits unresolved.Summary
The high-profile trial of Benjamin and Noah Peraire-Bueno, accused of orchestrating a $25 million exploit on Ethereum's MEV system via "sandwich attacks," ended in a mistrial after 18 days due to a deadlocked jury. The case tested whether manipulating public blockchain code for profit constitutes wire fraud and money laundering, with the defense arguing they operated within the system's rules, while prosecutors claimed wrongful intent. Jurors struggled with interpreting criminal intent (mens rea) in the context of decentralized finance (DeFi). The mistrial leaves a significant legal ambiguity regarding the prosecution of code-based exploits under existing fraud laws, similar to challenges seen in the Tornado Cash case, and the Department of Justice has not yet decided on a retrial.
(Source：BeInCrypto)