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Ethereum developer arrested over North Korea controversy

U.S. authorities arrested Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith at Los Angeles International Airport on Black Friday on charges of conspiracy to assist North Korea with evading sanctions.

The authorities allege that Griffith traveled to North Korea to deliver a presentation giving technical advice on how to use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to evade sanctions.

Griffith is alleged to have violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which prohibits citizens from exporting goods, services or technology to sanctioned countries without approval from the Treasury Department.

“Virgil Griffith provided highly technical information to North Korea, knowing that this information could be used to help North Korea launder money and evade sanctions," said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman in a statement. "In allegedly doing so, Griffith jeopardized the sanctions that both Congress and the president have enacted to place maximum pressure on North Korea’s dangerous regime."

Blockchain and peace

The Ethereum researcher and developer announced his intention to take a "vacation" to North Korea in a tweet on January 19th, to which creator Vitalik Buterin replied, "enjoy!"

But the trip was not a typical vacation, and Griffith later admitted in an FBI interview that he had initially been denied permission to enter the country by the U.S. Department of State. Griffith managed to enter North Korea via China in April with a paper visa he procured from the diplomatic mission in New York.

At the cryptocurrency conference in the capital of Pyongyang, Griffith delivered a presentation titled ‘Blockchain and Peace’, which authorities allege stressed "the potential money laundering and sanctions evasion applications of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology". Afterward, he made a symbolic transfer of 1 ETH to South Korea, sending several text messages detailing his actions which suggest he was fully aware that he was breaking international sanctions.

A violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) carries a maximum sentence of a 20-year prison term. With Griffith facing serious charges, the Ethereum community is divided with some commentators rallying to support his efforts, and others criticizing his naivety.

A cult hacker

In a profile from the New York Times linked to via his personal website, Griffith, an American citizen based in Singapore, is described as "a cult hacker that combines geekdom with a James Bond-like suaveness."

The 36-year-old researcher has a history of embarking on ambitious peace-making campaigns; making efforts to reconcile Ethereum with Islamic finance under sharia law, and resolving differences with the team behind Ethereum Classic. Prior to joining the Ethereum Special Projects Team, Griffith created a mischievous tool known as WikiScanner, which cross-referenced IP addresses to expose the perpetrators of anonymous Wikipedia edits.

But this time he may have taken his mischief too far. The Ethereum Foundation has explicitly tried to distance itself from Griffith’s North Korean adventure, claiming it was "a personal trip that many counseled against."

Other developers have also lamented his foolhardiness, with Nick Johnson saying his good intentions are likely to have dire consequences. "Travelling to North Korea, against advice, then chatting to the FBI about it without a lawyer is all staggeringly naive, and the personal consequences for Virgil seem likely to be dire. But I strongly believe his efforts were well-intentioned."

Crypto lawyer Preston Byrne has joined the chorus of critics with less sympathetic views, lambasting the mishap as an "appalling governance failure by the Ethereum Foundation and the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance."

Vitalik Buterin, however, took to his personal Twitter account to launch a petition and make an impassioned plea for Griffith’s freedom, claiming that "geopolitical open-mindedness is a virtue," and that this virtue has paid off in multiple other contexts," like improving relations with "Ethereum Classic, Hyperledger, and others."

In his own defense, Griffiths is said to have told the FBI that the presentation only contained basic blockchain and cryptocurrency concepts that could be found online — an explanation that has resonated with several libertarian-minded figures including John McAfee, who suggests criminal enforcement, in this case, could set a dangerous precedent by "declaring publicly available information a national secret."

Griffiths will be represented by Brian Klein and has been released from custody pending trial.


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