Remember Virgil Griffith, the Ethereum developer arrested a year ago for sanctions violations after attending a conference in North Korea? U.S. government prosecutors have argued against his defenses attempts to dismiss the case, saying he knowingly and willfully broke the law with his actions.
Griffith was released on a US$1 million bond in January 2020, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Its yet another demonstration that, while technology can provide a means to skirt human laws, it does not protect human participants from consequences once the law decides to get involved.
According to the prosecution, Griffith was well aware that his trip to Pyongyang in April 2019 would violate U.S. government sanctionsand that the knowledge he imparted in his lecture would assist others in North Korea in evading those sanctions. Quoting text messages hed sent in the year before the event, it claimed Griffith knew that knowledge of cryptocurrencies would help people in the DPRK get around sanctions imposed as part of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Not only that, but the content of his presentation at the conference was specifically tailored to highlight these benefits, the government said. It also mentioned one or more co-conspirators in the case who had assisted Griffith at various stages.
Griffiths defense was attempting to have the case thrown out based on a number of reasons. It claimed the information he presented at the conference was general in nature and the contents were widely available to anyone with an Internet connection. Moreover, Griffith had not been paid to attend the conference so it couldnt constitute a service under the IEEPA.
Defense lawyers also argued the four-page indictment against Griffith was short and vague, and violated his rights under the Fifth and Sixth amendments by not providing him with adequate information or notice regarding the governments case against him.
Prosecutors called Griffiths arguments absurd, saying that sanctions forbid all services of this type whether paid or unpaid. They claimed Griffith had acknowledged before the trip that blockchain technology and developers could assist in evading trade sanctions, and that Griffith had arranged to send a transaction from North to South Korea as a demonstration, even mentioning to his co-conspirator that this action itself would violate sanctions.
As for the information provided in its indictment, they countered that it was sufficient and prosecutors were under no obligation to supply all the evidence they held on Griffith and his accomplices.
Whether or not the information he presented was available elsewhere, packaging it as a lecture and following up with questions and answers clearly represented a value-added service and was of economic benefit to attendees. Additionally, Griffith went ahead with his trip to the DPRK despite being denied permission by the U.S. State Department beforehand.
That digital assets and blockchain technology could assist in helping foreign governments get around trade sanctions had long been spoken about in industry circles, but was rarely touted publicly as a key benefit. Griffiths case in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York is the first to feature such a use case, though commentators have noted its more a national security matter that just happens to include cryptocurrencies.
Once again: code is not law
Why would Griffith have proceeded with his travel and presentation, despite alleged warnings and knowledge that it would break the law? It could be the hubris of developers who wrongly believe the ability to perform a successful process on a technological platform somehow means human authorities have no recourse. This is untrue, and dangerous to assume.
Code is law, that oft-repeated favorite maxim of crypto-anarchists, applies only to computers. Human operators of those computers and beneficiaries of their processes are still very much subject to human laws, and governments have a wide array of methods to deal with them.
Access to services can be severely restricted, even if their use remains available to a few. Humans program and maintain the machines running the code, and the output of the code influences events in the human world. While these humans still live in the physical world, they can still be arrested, fined, imprisoned and influenced like anyone else.
Virgil Griffiths case is ongoing, and yet to be decided by a judge. Regardless of how information and technology may have assisted the North Korean government, this case will have a decidedly human outcomesomething everyone in the technology industry should remember.
FollowCoinGeeks Crypto Crime Cartelseries, which delves into the stream of groupsfromBitMEXtoBinance,Bitcoin.com,Blockstream,ShapeShiftand Ethereumwho have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for nave (and even experienced) players in the market.
New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeeksBitcoin for Beginnerssection, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about Bitcoinas originally envisioned by Satoshi Nakamotoand blockchain.
The rest is here:
Ethereum developer knew he was helping North Korea evade sanctions: US prosecutors - CoinGeek
- How does Ethereum work - Medium - February 3rd, 2018 [February 3rd, 2018]
- Ethereum - BTCMANAGER - February 19th, 2018 [February 19th, 2018]
- This Giant Infographic Compares Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ... - February 19th, 2018 [February 19th, 2018]
- What is Ethereum? | CryptoCompare.com - February 23rd, 2018 [February 23rd, 2018]
- The Top 10 Best Ethereum Wallets (2018 Edition) - February 23rd, 2018 [February 23rd, 2018]
- Ethereum fixes serious eclipse flaw that could be exploited ... - March 7th, 2018 [March 7th, 2018]
- How does Ethereum work, anyway? - Medium - April 25th, 2018 [April 25th, 2018]
- Free-Ethereum.com - Free Ether! - May 31st, 2018 [May 31st, 2018]
- What is Ethereum? | The Ultimate Beginners' Guide - June 20th, 2018 [June 20th, 2018]
- Ethereum Mining Guide for AMD and NVidia GPUs - Windows ... - June 20th, 2018 [June 20th, 2018]
- Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts ... - July 16th, 2018 [July 16th, 2018]
- Ethereum Price - Mobile Friendly Price of Ether - July 16th, 2018 [July 16th, 2018]
- Ethereum Soars with over a 2,800% Rally - Coin News Asia - July 28th, 2018 [July 28th, 2018]
- Ethereum Co-Founder Joseph Lubin Says Speculators Driving ... - August 20th, 2018 [August 20th, 2018]
- Bitcoin and Ethereum: A Look At The Week Ahead - September 2nd, 2018 [September 2nd, 2018]
- EthereumPrice - Official Site - October 3rd, 2018 [October 3rd, 2018]
- Ethereum Classic Price Analysis: ETC/USD Could Revisit $12 - October 6th, 2018 [October 6th, 2018]
- Ethplorer Ethereum tokens explorer and data viewer. Top ... - October 6th, 2018 [October 6th, 2018]
- Buy and Sell Ether With The Peer-to-Peer Ethereum ... - October 6th, 2018 [October 6th, 2018]
- Ethereum Price - CoinDesk - October 18th, 2018 [October 18th, 2018]
- EthereumPrice.org - USD Price, Charts & History - October 18th, 2018 [October 18th, 2018]
- Report: Whales Accumulate Ethereum (ETH) En-Masse Amid Bear ... - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- GitHub - ethereum/go-ethereum: Official Go implementation of ... - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- Ethererum Crypto-Economics Index Real-time Price Charts and ... - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- Ethereum Definition | Investopedia - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- What is Ethereum Gas: Step-By-Step Guide - Blockgeeks - December 19th, 2018 [December 19th, 2018]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Could Extend Losses Below $80 ... - December 19th, 2018 [December 19th, 2018]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Could Turn Bullish Above $90 ... - December 19th, 2018 [December 19th, 2018]
- Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple Prices Surge Higher; FOMO Santa Rally? - December 26th, 2018 [December 26th, 2018]
- Ethereum Co-Founder Calls the Cryptobottom of 2018 ... - December 26th, 2018 [December 26th, 2018]
- Part 1: Ethereum vs NEO Which blockchain will provide ... - December 31st, 2018 [December 31st, 2018]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Corrects Sharply, Can It Hold ... - December 31st, 2018 [December 31st, 2018]
- Ethereum: JPMorgan, Microsoft, Banks Form ... - fortune.com - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- Ethereum News | Ethereum News today | Latest Ethereum News - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) - Price, Chart, Info | CryptoSlate - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- Ethereum Cash Pro - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- What Is Ethereum? Here's What You Need To Know - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- What is Ethereum? | The Ultimate Beginners Guide - January 27th, 2019 [January 27th, 2019]
- Ethereum Classic - A smarter blockchain that takes digital ... - January 27th, 2019 [January 27th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Relatively Muted, Next Move ... - January 27th, 2019 [January 27th, 2019]
- Buy and Sell Ether With The Peer-to-Peer Ethereum Marketplace ... - January 27th, 2019 [January 27th, 2019]
- What is Ethereum? | The Ultimate Beginners' Guide - CoinCentral - January 30th, 2019 [January 30th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Breaks Down, Turned Sell on ... - January 30th, 2019 [January 30th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Remains Sell Near $128 ... - March 6th, 2019 [March 6th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Remains Sell Near $128, Target ... - March 11th, 2019 [March 11th, 2019]
- Create a cryptocurrency contract in Ethereum - March 11th, 2019 [March 11th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Buyers Wont Give Up Easily ... - March 11th, 2019 [March 11th, 2019]
- Buy and Sell ETH With The Peer-to-Peer Ethereum Marketplace ... - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum Technical Analysis - FXStreet - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum - Investopedia - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum - reddit - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum vs Bitcoin: The Battle for the Crypto Throne - Coindoo - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Could Make a Sustained Move ... - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum Project - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum - Official Site - April 20th, 2019 [April 20th, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) Price Starts Much Awaited Rebound To $170 - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Corrects But More Upsides Likely ... - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Primed For Additional Losses ... - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum Won't Fail: Joseph Lubin - ccn.com - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) Price Starts Fresh Increase: Bitcoin Leading ... - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Booming As Ethereum, Ripple's XRP, EOS And Litecoin ... - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum Bounty Program - May 30th, 2019 [May 30th, 2019]
- Dark Horses of dApps: 6 Blockchains With Ethereum In Their Sights - Crypto Briefing - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Latin Americans get two new ways to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more - Decrypt - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Ethereums Bearish Wave Count Outlined by Cryptocurrency Analyst - BeInCrypto - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- XRPs Third Quarter Inflation Rate Was Lower Than Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) - SludgeFeed - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) Dives To $170, Is $160 Next Bear Target? - newsBTC - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Thomson Reuters: Bringing Smart Contracts to the Mainstream With Ethereum & Chainlink - Blockonomi - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Crypto Analyst: Ethereum Has Bottomed, Expected To See Extended Rally - newsBTC - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- WATCH: MyCrypto CEO Taylor Monahan on Crypto Adoption and Ethereum - Coindesk - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Cryptocurrency market update: Kicks of a dying horse as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple remain suppressed - FXStreet - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Cryptocurrencies price prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum & Litecoin - American Wrap - 22 October - FXStreet - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereums gas prices show an unusual surge when the Asian market sleeps - AMBCrypto - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Whale Consolidates $88M Worth of Ethereum in Two Transactions - BeInCrypto - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum Falls 10% In Selloff - Yahoo Finance - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- TRON Joins Bitcoin And Ethereum On Opera Browser - Crypto Briefing - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) Rebound Faces Major Hurdle Near $180 - newsBTC - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum Breakout Above $360 Means Skys the Limit, Believes Cryptocurrency Analyst - BeInCrypto - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum Futures: The Next Big Derivative to Hit the Market? - Cointelegraph - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum and Stellars Lumen Daily Tech Analysis 23/10/19 - Yahoo Finance - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]