The US sentenced a crypto expert to 5 years in prison after he gave a blockchain presentation in North Korea

• The US sentenced a crypto researcher to five years in prison after he presented at a blockchain conference in North Korea.
• Prosecutors say Virgil Griffith, 39, undermined US sanctions imposed on North Korea.

The US sentenced a blockchain researcher to more than five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to help North Korea evade sanctions using cryptocurrency.

Virgil Griffith, who holds a doctorate from the California Institute of Technology, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate US law. The 39-year-old's sentencing also included a $100,000 fine.

Griffith previously worked for the Ethereum foundation, and visited North Korea in April 2019.

He went to speak at the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference, even though the US State Department had denied him permission to go.

Then, in September 2021, Griffith pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the US International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Prosecutors said Griffith understood that the information he presented in North Korea could be used to evade sanctions that Washington had put on North Korea regarding its nuclear weapons.

"The most important feature of blockchains is that they are open. And the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] can't be kept out no matter what the USA or the UN says," Griffith said during his presentation in North Korea, according to prosecutors.

The US Department of Justice said Griffith had undermined these sanctions and "jeopardized the national security of the United States."