MEV bot exploit heads to US court, testing crypto’s legal gray zones

Anton and James Peraire-Bueno appeared in court this week to address allegations involving a $25 million exploit on the Ethereum blockchain.

Opening arguments in the criminal trial for two brothers allegedly responsible for using maximal extractable value (MEV) bots to perpetuate a multimillion-dollar exploit kicked off on Wednesday.

Anton and James Peraire-Bueno appeared in a New York courtroom as US attorneys and defense lawyers presented different narratives around the alleged crypto scheme, which resulted in about $25 million being removed. 

According to reporting from Inner City Press, attorneys for the US government claimed the brothers “tricked their victims” by committing a “high-speed bait and switch.” However, defense attorneys said the “victims here were sandwich bots,” adding that the Peraire-Bueno duo employed a trading strategy and claimed that the profits were not illegal, so there was no related money laundering. 

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