After Discussing Ethereum In North Korea, ETH Developer Virgil Griffith Tossed Into Jail

One of the developers of Ethereum, Virgil Griffith. (Miro Medium)

JAKARTA – One of the developers at the Ethereum Foundation, Virgil Griffith, was forced to be behind bars. Griffith was sentenced to more than five years in prison after he traveled to North Korea to discuss Ethereum in 2019.

The sentence was handed down on April 12, 2022. He was deemed to have violated international sanctions set out in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act imposed by the United States government against the North Korean government.

CryptoPotato reports that Griffith pleaded guilty to one single conspiracy charge for giving a lecture on cryptocurrencies in North Korea, explaining the use of Ethereum and the basics of smart contracts. In addition to serving a 63-month prison sentence, Griffith had to pay a fine of $100.000 to the US government.

Virgil Griffith was arrested in November 2019 in the US upon his return from North Korea after giving a public lecture on Ethereum. Previously, Griffith was sentenced to a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years. Thanks to his defense, he was only sentenced to prison for five years and a few months.

Meanwhile, the Daily Beast reported that the defense sought leniency for the "inhumane" conditions the inmate endured by barring him from visiting his family and forcing him to use the sink as a toilet.

Demers, the US assistant attorney general for national security, said Griffith had been warned repeatedly not to attend the conference in order to avoid trouble, Griffith was seen as ignoring this point.

Support From Crypto Community

Despite pleading guilty to conspiracy charges, crypto community and Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin showed their support for Griffith, stating that what he explained during the conference was in the public domain and he did it not for personal gain, so he should not be convicted of conspiracy.

On the other hand, Griffith himself was aware of the lessons learned from the matter. Therefore he felt ashamed because he was forced to languish in prison due to a trip to North Korea and ignored warnings from those closest to him and also the US government.

However, this does not appear to be a problem for the prosecution. According to Judge Castel, Griffith did not mean well and instead showed "a desire to educate people on how to avoid sanctions."

So beyond the penalties and fines imposed on former Ethereum developers, these penalties could serve as an example for anyone trying to use cryptocurrency to evade sanctions imposed by the United States.