The post Ethereum Researcher Virgil Griffith Released from Prison appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Griffith reached the end of his sentence for violating US sanctions by presenting blockchain knowledge in North Korea. Meanwhile, Argentina’s President Javier Milei faces a congressional probe over his alleged involvement in the LIBRA meme coin scandal. In another high-profile crypto case, SafeMoon CEO Braden Karony is seeking to dismiss charges against him by referring a recent DOJ directive discouraging regulatory overreach in crypto enforcement. Virgil Griffith Leaves Prison Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith was released from prison custody as of April 9, according to confirmation from the Bureau of Prison officials. While he is no longer behind bars, Griffith will remain in a halfway house for several weeks as he prepares to complete the next steps of his parole process. This is according to crypto developer Brantly Millegan. Griffith’s legal troubles began in 2019 when he was arrested for delivering a lecture in North Korea on blockchain technology and its potential to circumvent US sanctions. The US government accused him of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by allegedly providing the country with “highly technical information,” even though the contents of his presentation were said to be publicly available online. Griffith giving his controversial 2019 lecture in North Korea The case shed some light on the growing friction between blockchain innovation and national security concerns, and also raised some serious questions about the boundaries of free speech and technological education in a globally regulated environment. Griffith’s situation also sparked widespread debate over how the US government enforces sanctions laws in the digital age and how developers engaging in open-source projects may inadvertently cross legal lines. A US grand jury formally indicted Griffith in January of 2020 for conspiring to violate the IEEPA. He initially pleaded not guilty, and his defense argued that sharing publicly accessible information should not…

---

Filed under: News - @ April 10, 2025 9:27 am