SEC Charges Mango Markets Over Unregistered Token Sales

According to BlockBeats, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against the entity operating the cryptocurrency trading platform Mango Markets. The charges allege that the platform offered and sold its 'MNGO' governance tokens without proper registration. The SEC's complaint states that since August 2021, Mango DAO, purportedly a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), and the Panama-based entity Blockworks Foundation have raised over $70 million from hundreds of investors worldwide, including those in the United States, through unregistered offerings and sales of MNGO tokens, which are described as governance tokens for the Mango Markets platform. Additionally, the SEC accuses Blockworks Foundation and Mango Labs of operating as unregistered brokers since at least August 2021. The entities are alleged to have actively solicited and recruited users to trade securities on Mango Markets, provided advice and valuations on the merits of securities investments, and facilitated securities transactions on the platform by assisting customers in opening accounts and regularly handling customer funds and securities.