ETH Researcher Virgil Griffith Freed From Custody, Transitions to Halfway House

ETH researcher Virgil Griffith has been freed from federal prison and moved to a halfway house, confirmed officials from the Bureau of Prisons on 9 April 2025.

As reported by crypto developer Brantly Millegan, Griffith is set to stay at the halfway house for a few weeks while he fulfills the subsequent stages of his parole process.

His situation, which started with his arrest in 2019 for speaking at a blockchain conference in North Korea, has evolved into one of the most notable legal cases involving a blockchain developer and the US government.

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Griffith Arrested For Distributed ledger Lecture Accused of Assisting North Korea Evasion of Sanctions

Griffith was initially apprehended after delivering a lecture in Pyongyang. The American authorities claimed that the lecture conveyed “highly technical information” about blockchain technology, which could help North Korea in dodging US sanctions.

The US government accused Griffith of breaching the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

IEEPA prohibits citizens of the United States from partaking in unauthorized economic engagements with foreign adversaries.

While Griffith’s presentation encompassed information that is widely accessible online, the government contended that sharing it with a sanctioned regime still represented a legal infringement.

In January 2020, a grand jury indicted him on conspiracy charges under IEEPA. Initially entering a plea of not guilty, Griffith’s defense sought to have the case dismissed, asserting that his conduct did not violate the law.

VIRGIL GRIFFITH IS OUT OF PRISON!!!

just released this morning! he’ll be in a halfway house for a few weeks, and then parole with work restrictions (so a pardon is still vital), but HE IS OUT pic.twitter.com/Q4jRZmryGk

— brantly.eth (@BrantlyMillegan) April 9, 2025

In September 2021, after nearly two years of legal battles, Griffith accepted a plea bargain. He acknowledged breaching US sanctions laws. In April 2022, he was sentenced to 63 months in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.

Subsequent attempts to lessen his sentence followed. In April 2024, Griffith’s legal representatives submitted a request for a sentence reduction. This motion faced opposition from federal prosecutors who insisted that his actions posed a threat to national safety.

Nevertheless, Judge Kevin Castel approved a sentence reduction in July 2024, decreasing Griffith’s prison duration to 56 months.

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Inside North Korea’s Billion-Dollar Crypto Heists: Funding Nukes In Shadows

North Korea has elevated crypto hacking to a state-sponsored initiative, as its Lazarus Group reportedly pilfers billions in digital currencies to price floor its heavily sanctioned economy and nuclear arms program.

In a significant event in February 2025, Lazarus absconded with $1.5 billion from the crypto trading platform Bybit, utilizing advanced methods such as fraudulent job offers, malicious applications, and multi-chain laundering to elude detection.

Since 2017, it is estimated that the regime has conducted over 50 similar operations, gathering close to $3 billion in illicit cryptocurrency.

Despite various indictments and public alerts from US authorities, enforcing sanctions and reclaiming stolen assets remains a significant hurdle due to the anonymous and decentralized characteristics of crypto asset.

In addition to cyber offenses, North Korea also employs forged documents and intricate trade routes to procure sensitive nuclear technology, underscoring the regime’s increasing dependence on unconventional methods to maintain and advance its weapons ambitions.

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