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    Did This Crypto Guru Help North Korea Fund Its Weapons Program?



    Did This Crypto Guru Help North Korea Fund Its Weapons Program?

    Virgil Griffith is a hotshot programmer from Tuscaloosa, Alabama who was an integral developer on Ethereum, the 2nd biggest cryptocurrency in the world. He has an almost evangelical belief in the utopian possibilities of decentralized finance. And that is supposedly why he made an illegal trip to the dangerous rogue nation of North Korea, to speak at a Blockchain Cryptocurrency conference being held there. The FBI thinks there was much more to it than that, and now Virgil is locked up in a federal penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania for conspiring with the Hermit Kingdom. So, why did he really go, and is Virgil Griffith the nerd who worked for North Korea?

    This episode is from the series Cowboy Kings of Crypto which was created in 2022.

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    View 40 Comments

    40 Comments

    2. @bigapeallcity on

      INFINITE MONEY GLITCH:
      Step 1) Hack/Defraud a bunch of wallets for millions of dollars
      Step 2) Act North Korean if you get caught/Blame North Korea for the Hack if you can't find a culprit
      Step 3) Media will always take the side against communism (makes you think, huh?) and reports "Did North Korea Steal $XXX Million In CryptoCurrency Hack?"
      Step 4) Repeat

      Usually you not only get to keep the money but a man in a suit called the CIA will knock on your door and give you a briefcase of money to act like North Korea did it.

    10. @nevermanishere on

      @21:00 ish. "He should be at Ivy League Universities teaching them." Yeah OK, let's have him teach the wealthiest Americans how to get around the law with crypto. What a stupid argument.

    12. @mason96575 on

      It truly astounds me just how YOUNG some of these brilliant kids are! The ability to change the WORLD as a kid in his 20’s

      It’s just baffling!

      It’s also really 
 I don’t wanna say depressing 
 it’s just 

      I know the train came and left- I know I’m not on it 😱

    14. @mason96575 on

      **for what it’s worth: I know every other comment here is essentially saying the same thing I’m saying – that’s just a testament to just HOW profound (stupid, really) him “telling on himself” really is / just how much it stands out / just how much you wouldn’t expect some super smart kid to do!

      14:09 đŸ«ąđŸ˜«đŸ€Šâ€â™‚ïž

      Dddaaaammnmnnnn


      They didn’t have a case – they DIDN’T EVEN KNOW – he was in North Korea or doing anything like that, at all!

      Even with all his social media posting – essentially BEGGING for attention – they still did not know
!

    16. @Spadaforza on

      He knew what he was doing was illegal, he was told by officials it was illegal before he did it and did it anyway and then expected nothing would happen. There's no further nuance to this story. He was an idiot, and he gets to serve a sentence like an idiot.

    17. @stevinharper3551 on

      You mean he tried to help a horrible dictatorship gain weapons. There is evidence to prove it. Who could've thought he would arrested lol. He's were he should be

    24. @alecgladkov8573 on

      Moral of the story is that Virgil is wayyyy to trusting and has too much of a "just wants to spread peace" personality. The NK probably saw this and decided to target him. His entire story could be true but those 30 people they gave the talk to where probably intelligence officers and they were being spied on the entire time. ANY slip up, maybe mentioning some new algorithm or some future plans or one extra joke could give them the info necessary. Any interaction that involves NK is dangerous bc they are so desperate for any type of expertise.

    26. @blondie4182 on

      I was on his side until you showed the messages he himself sent on his phone. The guy was totally trying to dodge sanctions why is this being made out as some sort of autistic victim in NK story again

    32. @teague9910 on

      Wow the FBI nailed a real mastermind here, the information he gave was available on a basic internet search. So yeah, real l33t hacking and information he provided and what a bunch of tools the FBI are. These people justify their living by putting people in jail, not catching criminals. They will ALWAYS go for the low hanging fruit, because they can report that win to the boss and get a promotion. It's all a joke, we as a country shouldn't give prosecutors and these agencies so much power.

    33. @Daddimon on

      He knew what he did was illegal and stupid. 5 years or less with good behavior is pretty light considering how it seems he was one part of a group that purposefully aided a terrorist state in acquiring new skills to commit massive money laundering schemes.

    34. @ph00z00 on

      the problem is, the UN is communist. it's coming out in the open now, DNC is also working for communist interests. democracy is dead when the Democrats are subverting democracy.

    37. @guszijan-ic8dk on

      Thanks Mate, the sad truth is that no one has a clue, we all react to what happens as it happens and try to analyse it but can’t predict an iota of what is going to unfold in the markets
 content creators are like amplifiers, when times are good they affirm it and try to tell you why it’s good and that it’s looking bullish but then all of a sudden the market turns bearish and everyone affirms it again and try to analyse why
 it’s so sad that many are so powerless and it's not about guessing the market's next move; it's about playing it smart and steady during trading…managed to grow a nest egg of around 2.3Bitcoin to a decent 19Bitcoin in the space of a few months… I'm especially grateful to Rafa Manuel, whose deep expertise and traditional trading acumen have been invaluable in this challenging, ever-evolving financial landscape…

    40. @remigor569 on

      So let me get this straight, the primary defense from his associates is that his actions didn't amount to a lot of impact so he should not be charged? And they are also saying that he should be on a lecture tour to Ivy League schools.

      Let me recap that for a sec: "He's a dumbass crypto bro who knows about crypto no more than a simple Google search so he should not be charged. But he's also a genius and should lead academia into a new age of crypto utopia"

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