On Black Friday 2019, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York put out a press release announcing the arrest of a prominent Etherean — Virgil Griffith.

The Complaint raises only one charge — violation of International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 USC § 1705 (IEEPA). The Complaint is merely an accusation, and — by law — Griffith is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

What follows is an objective analysis of the Complaint, looking at the facts most favorably to Griffith. The analysis also draws on some public record information. The purpose of this analysis is to draw some immediate and longer-term lessons about crypto law, blockchain utility, and personal responsibility.

[Usual Disclaimer: we have never met Griffith; this is not legal advice; etc.]

1. Where

This criminal case is being handled by the Southern District of New York’s Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. The crime allegedly took place in New York County.

Griffith was arrested at LAX on Thanksgiving Thursday, November 28, 2019 and appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday, November 29, 2019.

2. Who

Griffith is a 36 year-old Etherean (member of the global Ethereum blockchain developer/stakeholder community). He has a doctorate from California Institute of Technology (CalTech) in computational and neural systems.

Griffith is affiliated with the Switzerland-based nonprofit Ethereum Foundation (EF). Like many researchers at the EF, he has run different projects — ranging from Ethresear.ch (a popular community research forum), to compliance research and analysis looking at blockchains under, say, Sharia law.

Representing the United States are:

Brandon M. Cavanaugh, Special Agent, FBI Counterintelligence Division Geoffrey S. Berman (United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York) John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Brown, Assistant Director of the FBI, Counterintelligence Division William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of FBI New York Field Office Kimberly Ravener, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael K. Krouse, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle A. Wirshba, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Ford, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section Matthew J. McKenzie, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section

3. What

The International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) is a federal statute that prohibits both imports from and exports to specific countries like Cuba and North Korea and is administered by the Treasury Department.

The IEEPA is one of three main export control regimes under U.S. law: