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Former Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith is Freed from Prison, Now Seeking Pardon to Return to Crypto World
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Ethereum Researcher Released Early After Serving Over Three Years for North Korea Sanctions Violation
Virgil Griffith, a former developer at the Ethereum Foundation, has been released from prison custody and is now transitioning through a halfway house as part of his parole.
His release on 9 April was confirmed by the US Bureau of Prisons, nearly four years after he was arrested for delivering a blockchain lecture in North Korea.
Lecture in Pyongyang Sparks Legal Trouble
Griffith was taken into custody in 2019 after he travelled to Pyongyang and gave a presentation titled “Blockchains for Peace in North Korea”.
The lecture, which reportedly discussed how blockchain technology could be used to bypass US-imposed financial sanctions, prompted immediate legal action from US authorities.
Prosecutors claimed Griffith’s talk amounted to delivering “highly technical information” that could assist a sanctioned regime in avoiding restrictions, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Despite the content being publicly accessible online, the US government viewed his actions as aiding a hostile foreign power.
Court Battle Ends in Guilty Plea and Reduced Sentence
Initially pleading not guilty, Griffith fought the charges, with his defence arguing in 2020 that he had merely shared publicly known information.
But in September 2021, he agreed to a plea deal, admitting guilt to the sanctions violation.
The following year, in April 2022, a New York court sentenced him to 63 months in prison and imposed a $100,000 fine—far less than the potential 20-year maximum sentence he faced had he gone to trial.
Griffith had already been in custody since mid-2021.
Though granted bail shortly after his arrest, a judge later revoked it when he attempted to access his cryptocurrency wallet to pay legal fees, violating the terms of his release.
Virgil Griffith
Sentence Cut Following Push for Leniency
In April 2024, Griffith’s legal team submitted a motion requesting a reduced sentence, pointing to his status as a first-time offender.
Prosecutors resisted, arguing that his actions posed a risk to national security.
Despite objections, US District Judge Kevin Castel agreed to reduce the sentence by seven months.
The ruling, issued in July 2024, brought Griffith’s sentence down to 56 months.
Post-Prison Restrictions May Halt Return to Crypto
Griffith’s future remains uncertain.
His lawyer, Brian Urbelis, told CoinDesk the team is hopeful he will soon transition from the Baltimore halfway house to home confinement.
However, Urbelis cautioned that Griffith’s challenges are far from over.
He said,
“Virgil will have to endure burdensome probation for several years, the conditions of which are not yet known.”
In addition to probation, the US Department of Commerce has imposed stringent export restrictions on Griffith, which will last until 2032.
These measures prevent him from engaging in any software or technology-related exports, even indirectly, posing a major obstacle to any future involvement in the crypto or tech industries.
Efforts Underway to Seek Presidential Pardon
Griffith’s legal team is now pursuing a presidential pardon.
Urbelis stated,
“We are seeking a pardon to bring justice to a prosecution that we believe was wrongheaded and fundamentally un-American from the outset,”
He also added that the goal was “to make sure that Virgil has [the] ability to contribute to a world that so desperately needs thinkers and doers like him.”
Former President Donald Trump, now serving a second term, has previously pardoned others convicted on crypto-related charges, including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes.
Griffith’s team hopes for a similar outcome.
Background in Tech and Crypto Innovation
Before his arrest, Griffith joined the Ethereum Foundation in 2016, contributing to early infrastructure such as the Ethereum Name Service.
He holds a Ph.D. in computation and neural systems from Caltech and is known for creating WikiScanner, a tool that tracked anonymous Wikipedia edits.
He also collaborated with the late internet activist Aaron Swartz on Tor2web, which allowed users to access hidden Tor sites through standard browsers.
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