A U.S. judge has overturned Avraham Eisenberg’s conviction related to the $110 million Mango Markets exploit, citing insufficient evidence for his earlier market manipulation charges. This decision throws light on the legal definition of fraud in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols with their automated and permissionless operations. The ruling raises questions about future regulatory frameworks as it sidesteps conventional definitions of fraud within this environment. Eisenberg’s defense focused on how he exploited Mango Markets’ design without intending to mislead anyone, while Judge Arun Subramanian agreed that the platform operated autonomously due to its permissionless nature.