False alarm: DOJ did not classify MNGO as a commodity

cointelegraph.com:

Avraham Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico on Dec. 26 on commodities fraud and manipulation charges relating to the $110 million exploit of the decentralized Mango Markets exchange. Eisenberg had self-identified as the actor behind what he called a “highly profitable trading strategy” and insisted that he had taken “legal open market actions, using the protocol as designed.” 

Eisenberg’s arrest predictably lit up crypto Twitter, with some observers paying particular attention to the fact that commodities fraud charges were being pressed in a case involving a crypto coin:

looks like the Department of Justice is calling MNGO and/or CRV commodities (and not securities)!!!! pic.twitter.com/ZklOlubR8u

Eisenberg had manipulated the price of the exchange’s MNGO coin relative to the USDC (USDC) stablecoin and then took out loans against his collateral. For this, Eisenberg was charged with commodities fraud. In the charges against Eisenberg, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation special agency Brandon Racz wrote:

DoJ: "USDC is a Commodity"Guy: "See! Shitcoins like Mango are a commodity, thats totally what the DoJ said."This is why you pay lawyers folks. Do not do your own lawyer-ing at home, you will get rekt. https://t.co/N9n7k4UdzK

The agent’s understanding that stablecoins are commodities is only partially backed up by government policy, although it cites the McDonnell case prosecuted by the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as precedent. The claim that USDC is a commodity is not as controversial as claiming the same for MNGO, but may have bee a conscious choice.

(4) the fact that the case doesn't characterize the relevant tokens as securities is not in any way bullish/positive and merely arises from litigation