Crypto Wizard Freed! (No, We Didn’t Expect It Either)

In a turn of events that would make a rather nervous fortune teller say, “I told you so,” Ethereum developer and early contributor Virgil Griffith has been granted early release from prison. After nearly five years in an establishment less glamorous than he’d hoped (and with far fewer blockchain conferences), Griffith is once again free to roam, presumably singing jingles about U.S. sanctions on North Korea that he once tried — quite enthusiastically — to discuss. 🔓

Back in 2019, Griffith, 41, demonstrated an impressive penchant for controversy by trotting off to North Korea. There, he politely offered a dazzling talk titled “Blockchain for Peace,” which one imagines was slightly less peaceful from the viewpoint of U.S. prosecutors. They alleged that his informational wizardry on crypto usage might have been a bit too enlightening for the dear folks in Pyongyang. Who knew disclaimers like “Don’t use this for money-laundering” could be so easily forgotten? 🤔

In 2021, Griffith pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. He then exchanged his wizard robes for prison attire, sat glumly for 63 months, and faced a fine of $100,000 (hard to expense that one on a corporate card, we hear).

VIRGIL GRIFFITH IS OUT OF PRISON!!!
just released this morning! he’ll be in a halfway house for a few weeks, and parole after that with work restrictions (so a pardon is still important), but HE IS OUT 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
— brantly.eth (@BrantlyMillegan) April 9, 2025

On July 16, Judge Kevin Castel decided Griffith had provided enough free blockchain seminars to fellow inmates and trimmed his sentence to 56 months, effective August 2. While Griffith was no shining model of docile behavior in the eyes of prison authorities, the judge concluded that the public needn’t clutch their digital wallets too tightly anymore. 😎

Griffith’s ‘curiosity’

Griffith’s legal team insisted he merely shared open-source information, motivated by nothing more than academic zealousness and a particularly odd fascination with the mysteries of North Korea. Apparently, “holiday in Pyongyang” wasn’t the cheeriest idea, but as one lawyer put it, “When Virgil obsesses over something, he really obsesses.” 💡

Despite a reputation for tinkering with Ethereum’s early development, giving the Ethereum Name Service a tidy nudge, and generally being the talk of cryptoland, Griffith’s predicament garnered attention far beyond the realm of coin enthusiasts. It’s not every day you see the Venn diagram of crypto fans and national security experts overlap so dramatically. 🕵️‍♂️

All this drama unfolds amidst the ongoing escapades of North Korean-linked hackers, like the notorious Lazarus Group, who have proven themselves particularly adept at helping themselves to billions in digital loot over the past decade. If only they’d hosted a conference on “polite crypto usage,” maybe they’d be next on the release list. 💸

For now, Griffith remains in a federal prison in Michigan, but come August 2, he’s expected to be breezing out the doors — presumably with a renewed sense of humor about future “vacation” destinations. There’s nothing quite like nearly half a decade in the clink to make you reconsider your travel bucket list. 🤷‍♂️

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Crypto Wizard Freed! (No, We Didn’t Expect It Either)

Griffith’s ‘curiosity’

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