Jury in MEV bot trial struggles to reach verdict as weekend approaches

Defense attorneys reportedly requested a mistrial as jurors said they weren’t close to reaching a verdict in the case involving a $25 million Ethereum exploit.

Jurors who will decide whether two brothers are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a case involving maximal extractable value (MEV) bots on the Ethereum blockchain are no closer to reaching a verdict going into the weekend.

According to reporting from Inner City Press at a New York City court on Friday, the jurors in the US government’s case against Anton and James Peraire-Bueno requested additional clarification from the judge regarding the intentions behind their actions. Despite the instructions from the judge, the jurors were reportedly “having an issue reaching a unanimous verdict” in the case.

The reporting suggested that the jury could find the brothers not guilty on at least one of the charges for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to receive stolen property. Judge Jessica Clarke denied the defense lawyers’ requests for a mistrial and directed the jury to order dinner and continue deliberations.

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