US Court Grants Sentence Reduction for North Korean Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith

IconCryptoNewsTerminal Staff17 Jul, 2024

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US Court Grants Sentence Reduction for North Korean Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith

Virgil Griffith, the Ethereum developer who was sentenced to 63 months in prison for attending a cryptocurrency conference in Pyongyang without the US government's permission, has received a sentence reduction to 56 months. The reduction was granted "in light of the hardships he has endured in prison," according to the judge in the case. Griffith was arrested in November 2019 and charged with violating sanctions by attending the conference in April 2019. He was convicted in September 2022 and sentenced to 63 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) had previously said it would not support the request for a reduced sentence for Griffith. However, the judge in the case granted the reduction, saying that Griffith had "shown remorse for his actions" and that he had "suffered significant hardships in prison." Griffith's sentence reduction is a reminder of the US government's crackdown on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The DOJ has been investigating and prosecuting individuals and companies involved in the cryptocurrency industry, and it is likely that this trend will continue in the future.

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