Virgil Griffith, a former Ethereum developer who worked at Ethereum Name Service (even), has been Released from prison On trial and moved to a halfway house.
Updates published on X Wednesday, April 9, 2025, revealed that Griffith is now starting to return to civilian life after serving some of her sentence for breaking US sanctions.
Ethereum Developer’s Prison Release confirmed by sources
Brantly Milegan, CEO of Ethereum Identity Foundation, broke the news with a photo of Griffith and his parents outside the prison. Alexander Urbelis, even General Counsel and part of Griffith’s legal team, confirmed that he was released from FCI Milan in Michigan.
Virgil Griffith is out in prison !!!
Just released this morning! He will be in a half -way house for a few weeks and will be tested after that with work restrictions (so a pardon is still important), but he is out urch bers icular pic.twitter.com/q4jrzmrygk
– Brant.eth (@brelymillagan) April 9, 2025
Griffith was arrested in November 2019 after speaking at a Cryptocurrency conference in North Korea. Prosecutors claimed that his presentation provided information that can help North Korea avoid sanctions and wash money.
From 63 months to 56: meaning
In 2022, Griffith was sentenced to 63 months in prison and met a fine of $ 100,000 after invoke themselves guilty to the Act on Economic Powers for Emergency Department. In July 2024, US district judge Kevin Castel lowered his sentence to 56 months, with reference to him as a first time criminal.
ETHUSD trading at $1,598 on the daily chart: TradingView.com
Crypto Return is facing serious obstacles
Griffith herself starts a several years of testing time. His lawyers are struggling to transfer him from the halfway house to home delivery, but to return to ordinary life is hindered.
The Ministry of Commerce placed serious export restrictions on Virgil, which will extend until 2032, explained Urbelis. These boundaries can block his return to the Cryptocurrency field.
President’s pardon during the Trump administration
Before coming to Ethereum, Griffith earned a doctorate. From Caltech and created Wikiscanner, a tool that tracks Anonymous Wikipedia edits. He also worked with Aaron Swartz at Tor2web.
According to Urbelis, Griffith is looking for a pardon from US President Donald Trump. Trump has previously granted Klemens to others in crypto-related cases, including Ross Ulbricht and Arthur Hayes.
The case has triggered debate on sharing Open source code information versus helping sanctioned nations. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has supported Griffith and even signed a presentation that requires him to be released in 2023.
Image from Thiessen Law FirmDiagrams from TradingView
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