DOJ charges brothers with $25 million Ethereum heist that took 12 seconds

• The Department of Justice indicted two brothers for allegedly manipulating the Ethereum blockchain to steal $25 million in cryptocurrency within roughly 12 seconds.
• Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Peraire-Bueno, 28, were arrested on Tuesday for charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
• The charges come as investors await an SEC ruling on an Ethereum ETF.

The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the indictment of two brothers for allegedly stealing $25 million in cryptocurrency within roughly 12 seconds.

DOJ called it a "first-of-its kind" fraud, detailing the seconds-long scheme where the brothers allegedly manipulated the Ethereum blockchain to redirect pending transactions and steal $25 million in cryptocurrency.

"As we allege, the defendants' scheme calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York in a statement.

Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Peraire-Bueno, 28, were arrested on Tuesday for charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

The Peraire-Bueno brothers studied math and computer science "at one of the most prestigious universities in the country," according to the DOJ, adding that education would have helped them carry out the alleged fraud.

If convicted, the brothers face a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of the three counts they are charged with.

The charges come ahead of a long-awaited ruling from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on whether to approve an Ethereum exchange-traded fund, which would allow investors access to the ether token without having to directly own the cryptocurrency. The deadline for the SEC to complete its review ahead of a ruling is later this month.

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