TL;DR: Ethereum Foundation “special projects” developer Virgil Griffith will be released on bond to live with his parents in Alabama, according to a local court watcher. It’s a dramatic turn of events for Griffith, who was arrested Thanksgiving after allegedly traveling to North Korea and aiding officials there in evading US sanctions.

Ethereum Foundation’s Virgil Griffith to be Released to Parents on Bond

2020 will begin a little better than it ended for once-celebrated Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith. Reports as recently as three days ago had him denied bail for the duration of his possible trial for a charge related to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), specifically US sanction laws as they relate to North Korea.

Once again, Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press had the scoop. The veteran South District of New York Court watcher meticulously documented Griffith’s latest hearing in near real-time. “Upshot: for Virgil Griffith, SDNY Judge Broderick is allowing release on bond, to Alabama with his parents as ‘moral suasion.’ Proposes FBI agents escort Griffith to flights,” Lee tweeted earlier this morning.

Pending a few conditions, Griffith appears to be set for release to his parents back to his birth state in the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The bond for his conditional freedom is $1 million. It is quite an improvement over that last appeal where Griffith was considered a grave flight risk. The previous judge worried about text messages confiding his wish to renounce citizenship, along with his cryptocurrency tech-savvy. The other judge was so spooked, she openly mused about North Korea sending a plane for Griffith should he be released.

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