The trial of Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, MIT-educated brothers accused of stealing $25 million worth of Ethereum, commenced this week in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors alleged that the brothers manipulated Ethereum's blockchain protocols to tamper with transaction validation processes, enabling them to access victims' digital assets in a heist that took only 12 seconds to complete.
Anton, 25, and James, 29, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2024, with each count carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The trial, which began on October 15, 2025, is expected to last through the first week of November. Prosecutors described the scheme as meticulously planned, involving steps to conceal identities and launder proceeds, while former U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated it questions the very integrity of the blockchain.
Defense attorneys argued that the exploit was not illegal, characterizing it as a trading strategy involving maximal extractable value (MEV) bots, where the victims were sandwich bots. They noted that the brothers paid $6 million in taxes on the profits and emphasized that the case explores gray areas in crypto legality. The defense also filed a motion to exclude Google search history as unfairly prejudicial.
Industry experts, including Evan Van Ness of TXPool Capital, highlighted the legal uncertainties, while Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist supported the charges, asserting that code is not law. The brothers were arrested in May 2024 and have been free on bail since.
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