On 29 Nov, the US Department of Justice announced the arrest of Virgil Griffith. According to U.S Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman, Virgil Griffith allegedly provided North Korea with highly sensitive information that could be used by the Republic to bypass sanctions and launder money.

Assistant Attorney General John Demers added, “Despite receiving warnings not to go, Griffith allegedly traveled to one of the United States’ foremost adversaries, North Korea, where he taught his audience how to use blockchain technology to evade sanctions.  By this complaint, we begin the process of seeking justice for such conduct.”

From the accusations, Virgil’s actions are considered dangerous and against international efforts to limit the power of the dangerous regime.

Buterin Defends Griffiths

Vitalik Buterin, in a series of tweets, came out defending Mr. Griffith.

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. Reasoning below.https://t.co/E44p5caeJO

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 1, 2019

He also agreed to sign a petition to free Virgil Griffith.

After mentioning the conflict of interest with his opinion on the matter, Vitalik Buterin outlines why he thinks Virgil must be freed as soon as possible.

In his tweets, the Ethereum co-founder argues that whatever information Virgil passed to the North Korean government is public knowledge that can easily be accessed by simple searches.

3. I don't think what Virgil did gave DRPK any kind of real help in doing anything bad. He *delivered a presentation based on publicly available info about open-source software*. There was no weird hackery "advanced tutoring".

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 1, 2019

He also argued that it might be time for the world to embrace “geopolitical open-mindedness” to avoid such troubles. His tweet seems to suggest that by Virgil going to North Korea, he was ready to listen to their side of the story after years of being called a dangerous regime.

3. I don't think what Virgil did gave DRPK any kind of real help in doing anything bad. He *delivered a presentation based on publicly available info about open-source software*. There was no weird hackery "advanced tutoring".

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 1, 2019

Virgil’s arrest has generated numerous discussions online. Hopefully, his arrest will lead to a better understanding between blockchain and the rule of law.

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