The developer of Ethereum Virgil Griffith, who was in prison since November 2019, received parole and was transferred for several weeks to a rehabilitation center for social adaptation.

The liberation of Virgil Griffith was announced by the Executive Director of Ethereum Identity Foundation Brantly Milegan, publishing a photograph of the Gryffit with his parents on social networks. The information was confirmed by the main legal adviser of Ethereum Name Service Alexander Urbelis, who is also a third -party legal consultant of Griffith.

Urbelis specified that the developer was released from the FCI Milan, a low level of security in Michigan. There, Griffith left part of his term, since he was originally in another federal prison in Pennsylvania – FCI ALENWOOD LOW. Now Griffith is threatening several years conditionally. Urbelis noted that the developer’s legal team is working to transfer him from the rehabilitation center under house arrest.

The US Department of Commerce has imposed tough export restrictions on Griffith, which will operate until 2032. This can seriously limit the return of Griffith to the crypto industry.

Recall that Griffith was arrested in November 2019 for violation of international sanctions. This happened seven months after his trip to the conference to North Korea, where the topic of blockchain and cryptocurrencies was discussed. The prosecutor’s office insisted that the presentation of Griffith about the Ethereum could be used by North Korea to circumvent sanctions and launder money.

Griffith denied the charges against him, but in 2021 he found himself guilty at one point – in conspiracy in order to violate the law on international extraordinary economic powers (IEEPA). In 2022, the New York court sentenced Griffith to five years in prison, appointing him a fine of $ 100,000. The prosecutor’s office considered this sentence too soft, since Griffith threatened 20 years in prison. In July 2024, the district judge Kevin Castel reduced the sentence for Griffith to 56 months of prison.

Recently, US President Donald Trump pardoned the three founders of the Bitmex Exchange: Arthur Hais, Benjamin Delu and Samuel Reed. The head of the collapsed crypto-tank FTX Sam Bankman-Fried also hopes to get a pardon.