A federal judge in Manhattan has declared a mistrial in the case of Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, two MIT-educated brothers accused of carrying out an unprecedented $25 million cryptocurrency heist that prosecutors said exploited the Ethereum blockchain’s transaction validation process.
After days of deliberation, jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether the brothers were guilty of wire fraud and money laundering, prompting U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke to dismiss them and end the trial without a conviction.
The mistrial was confirmed by William Fick, counsel for Anton Peraire-Bueno, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment.
The Alleged “High-Speed Bait-and-Switch”
Prosecutors alleged that the Peraire-Bueno brothers — both graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with degrees in computer science — engineered a 12-second exploit in April 2023 to siphon off $25 million worth of Ethereum by manipulating the MEV-boost protocol, a critical piece of software used by Ethereum validators.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Nees, the brothers devised a “high-speed bait-and-switch” to lure automated trading bots into a trap, tamper with validation protocols, and drain other traders’ wallets by injecting deceptive transactions into the blockchain.
“They planted a trade that looked like one thing from the outside but was secretly something else,” Nees told jurors. “Then, just as the defendants planned, the victims took the bait.”
Defense: “A Legitimate, Competitive Strategy”
Defense lawyers argued that the brothers’ trading method, while technically complex and aggressive, fell within the bounds of legal algorithmic trading.
Katherine Trefz, counsel for James Peraire-Bueno, contended that their actions reflected “a legitimate and innovative strategy consistent with the competitive dynamics of decentralized finance.”
The defense emphasized that the Ethereum blockchain — by design — permits public observation and interaction with pending transactions, making the brothers’ use of timing and algorithmic precision a “clever but lawful advantage.”
Blockchain Integrity and Legal Precedent
The case drew global attention as one of the first attempts by U.S. prosecutors to criminalize on-chain manipulation of blockchain protocols — a gray area that tests the limits of both cybercrime law and decentralized finance regulation.
Prosecutors maintained that the scheme violated the spirit of financial fairness, likening it to “insider trading for crypto”, while defense attorneys argued that Ethereum’s open infrastructure inherently allows opportunistic but permissible behaviors.
Legal experts say the mistrial underscores the challenges of applying traditional financial fraud laws to blockchain-based ecosystems where “code is law” remains an underlying principle.
What Comes Next
The Peraire-Bueno brothers were indicted in May 2024, prior to the current administration’s more crypto-friendly enforcement stance, but the Department of Justice has not yet indicated whether it will retry the case.
As crypto enforcement continues to evolve, the mistrial highlights how jurors understanding of complex blockchain mechanics can determine outcomes in cases straddling the line between innovation and illegality.
“This trial won’t be the last to test whether exploiting blockchain code is a crime or a competition,” said one legal analyst following the case.
