Virgil Griffith, a former developer of the cryptocurrency Ethereum, was sentenced to five years and three months in a United States prison this week for reportedly helping North Korea learn about blockchain technology.

Prosecutors said a talk that Griffith gave to the North Koreans in 2019 and the assistance he offered them in setting up cryptocurrency wallets may have helped the North Korean nuclear program. Griffith, who confessed during the sentencing hearing that he was "obsessed" with North Korea and regretted his actions, originally asked for a shorter sentence but that request was denied.

Griffith: Watching Ukraine sanctions has shown me their value. I have been cured of my stubborn arrogance, and my obsession with North Korea. My career has been damaged. I'm sorry.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 12, 2022

BREAKING: Ethereum developer, Virgil Griffith, has been sentenced to five years and three months in U.S. prison after he pleaded guilty to a charge brought on by speaking at a crypto conference in North Korea. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).#CryptoNews #ETH pic.twitter.com/affCWk5XcN

— COiNAB UPDATES (@CoinabUpdates) April 18, 2022

Dam Virgil Griffith locked up.. why the eff was did he go to North Korea

— SalPalᵐᶠᵉʳ🫶 (@SAL_BIAnalytics) April 18, 2022

Virgil Griffith traveled to North Korea in April 2019 despite the FBI warning him not to go, according to documents from the U.S. Department of Justice. He presented at the Pyongyang Cryptocurrency Conference and answered questions from members of the North Korean government about how to evade U.S. and South Korean sanctions using cryptocurrency.

During his time in North Korea, according to a Coindesk article written by someone else who also attended the cryptocurrency conference, Griffith drank wine out of a bottle with a dead snake in it (a North Korean speciality, apparently) and regaled his hosts with a karaoke version of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion." According to court documents, Griffith was also photographed at the conference pointing at a whiteboard with the phrase "No sanctions" and a smiley face written on it.

wow just wow. guy woke up one day and was like lets go teach north korea about blockchain while their ppl starve and eat rats from dead bodies daily. https://t.co/7q6jl6xnM1

— 🐲defibae | BaeDAO🧋 (@defibae) April 18, 2022

Griffith, who was prominent in the Ethereum Foundation and was involved in other high-profile projects such as the original Tor browser and WikiSearch, at first defended himself by making reference to his philosophy about cryptocurrency as a decentralized, totally free and transparent kind of finance that should (in principle) be available for everybody.

"Virgil Griffith has no ideology"

In this letter to Judge Castel, I attempted to explain…

Virgil's ideology is centered on diplomacy, building bridges, compromise, and mutual benefit

Sad to see this overlooked, hoping Virgil lives to enjoy his 40shttps://t.co/cXc1I22Mfx https://t.co/QYh9pzkVr9 pic.twitter.com/73exVJXhsx

— ameen (@ameensol) April 12, 2022

Some commentators pointed out what they saw as a double standard in the United States governments' prosecution of sanctions violations. A sanction against a foreign entity or individual bars American citizens from doing business with them, but TD Bank and people working there received a fine for North Korea sanction violations, while Virgil Griffith received prison time.

TD bank got a 100k fine for 1000 North Korea sanctions violations.

Virgil Griffith got a 100k fine and 5 years in prison for speaking at 1 crypto conference in North Korea. https://t.co/PCjdJI63x6

— Naomi Brockwell (@naomibrockwell) April 16, 2022

More than a few people on Twitter also noticed that Virgil Griffith's name is, in fact, Virgil Griffith — a fact which, to them, was humorous.

This dudes name is Virgil Griffith https://t.co/4qVrq1ahzY

— Straight Vibin’ (@Smug_Homeslice) April 19, 2022

who the fuck names their child "virgil griffith" thats like naming your kid "plato nosferatu" gtfoh https://t.co/F1XVv73Q96

— OCELGEAR (@OCELGEAR) April 19, 2022

You can't make this shit up
His name is fucking Virgil Griffith
How much of a villain you wanna be bro? https://t.co/PnlXvE1Hsb

— Böki (@BruhMomentZeki) April 19, 2022

Part of the judge's reasoning for handing down such a harsh sentence is that Griffith's promotion of cryptocurrency as a sanctions evasion tool poses a threat to American foreign policy. Since the U.S. relies on economic sanctions as a tool on the international stage (most recently in the Russia-Ukraine war, for example). Griffith's sharing of knowledge about how to avoid sanctions decreases the effectiveness of that tool.