US Crypto Expert Jailed for Presenting Research to North Korea

The US sentenced a crypto researcher to 5 years in jail after he offered at a blockchain convention in North Korea.
Prosecutors say Virgil Griffith, 39, undermined US sanctions imposed on North Korea. 
“Crucial function of blockchains is that they’re open” Griffith mentioned in his presentation, based on prosecutors.

The US sentenced a blockchain researcher to greater than 5 years in jail after he pleaded responsible to conspiring to assist North Korea evade sanctions utilizing cryptocurrency.

Virgil Griffith, who holds a doctorate from the California Institute of Know-how, pleaded responsible to conspiring to violate US legislation. The 39-year-old’s sentencing additionally included a $100,000 tremendous. 

Griffith beforehand labored for the Ethereum basis, and visited North Korea in April 2019.

He went to talk on the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Convention, although the US State Division had denied him permission to go.

Then, in September 2021, Griffith pleaded responsible to conspiring to violate the US Worldwide Emergency Financial Powers Act. 

Prosecutors mentioned Griffith understood that the data he offered in North Korea might be used to evade sanctions that Washington had placed on North Korea relating to its nuclear weapons. 

“Crucial function of blockchains is that they’re open. And the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] cannot be saved out it doesn’t matter what the USA or the UN says,” Griffith mentioned throughout his presentation in North Korea, based on prosecutors.

The US Department of Justice mentioned Griffith had undermined these sanctions and “jeopardized the nationwide safety of america.”