Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin stepped forward to help free Virgil Griffith. The move comes after Griffith was arrested by the FBI for allegedly helping the North Korean regime to “use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to evade sanctions.”
Buterin advocates to free Virgil Griffith
On Nov. 29, the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI announced that Virgil Griffith, an American developer, was charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by traveling to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
According to U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman, Griffith went to North Korea in April to participate in the “Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference.” But, by doing so he disregarded the U.S. Department of State’s mandate that prevented him from traveling to the nation to provide goods, services, or technology.
Berman said:
“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. 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.”
Following the arrest, Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin signed a petition to free the American programmer. He argued that it would be easy for him to step back and let Griffith take the repercussions of his own actions. But, that is not the right approach to take.
Buterin affirmed via Twitter:
“I refuse to take the convenient path of throwing Virgil under the bus, because I firmly believe that that would be wrong. I’m signing.”
Buterin believes that Griffith’s “geopolitical open-mindedness” has helped improve relations with “Ethereum Classic,
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