What were the key legal questions?

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The trial highlighted a gray area in crypto law: can using code to exploit blockchain systems constitute a crime?

Defense argued the brothers acted within the rules of Ethereum’s public code.

Prosecutors said it was a calculated digital heist disguised as coding.

Jurors struggled with mens rea (criminal intent) in the context of decentralized finance.
Judge Clarke noted that under current law, defendants didn’t need to know their actions were illegal. The mistrial leaves no clear precedent for prosecuting code-based exploits in DeFi.

[Rimon Khan]

Mainly around intent, decentralization responsibility, and code-as-law arguments. ️