CoinDesk Podcasts

CoinDesk Podcast Network

UNCHAINED: Why the DOJ Doesn’t Want These MEV Exploiters to Get Away With It

Evan Zinaman breaks down why the government’s indictment of the Bueno brothers for their $25 million MEV exploitation...
CoinDesk Podcast Network
Listen on:

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox,Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

In this episode, Evan Zinaman, founder and principal at Trailbreak, delves into the first-of-its-kind case of the Bueno brothers, who face Department of Justice charges for exploiting Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) in a cryptocurrency scheme. Accused of manipulating transaction ordering to create an arbitrage opportunity, the brothers are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud as well as wire fraud itself.

Zinaman explores the broader implications of MEV exploitation and addresses critics who say that the MEV exploiters just got a taste of their own medicine, and the need for block-building participants to consider their legal and compliance responsibilities.

Show highlights:

  • What the charges against the Bueno brothers are about
  • How block building works on Ethereum and how the relay was manipulated by the Bueno brothers
  • The different types of MEV and which ones are acceptable
  • Why these charges could be seen as a "vanilla fraud," according to Evan
  • Whether the benefits of MEV outweigh the cons of it
  • The lack of terms of service in the MEV space
  • How the regulators' attention to the space has changed over time

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com.

First Bits + Bips episode: Bits + Bips: Does Macroeconomics Point to a Potential Crypto Supercycle?

Thank you to our sponsors! iTrustCapital | Polkadot | VaultCraft

Guest |

Links |

The Case:

Research:

Learn more:



Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz.

UNCHAINED: Why the DOJ Doesn’t Want These MEV Exploiters to Get Away With It