Cryptocurrency expert Virgil Griffith pleaded guilty today to helping North Korea evade U.S. sanctions by conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and Executive Order 13466. Griffith, who worked as a special programmer and researcher for the Ethereum Foundation, was arrested in November 2019 by the FBI.
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Tips on how to avoid sanctions and launder money
His arrest came after he traveled to North Korea to show the country how to use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology (i.e. smart contracts) to launder money and evade sanctions.
The defendant also spoke about how North Korea could use cryptocurrencies to gain independence from the global banking system.
He went to North Korea, even though he was denied permission by the U.S. and knew that doing so would violate U.S. sanctions against the DPRK, without permission from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
According to court documents, the cryptocurrency expert chose to obtain his travel visa on a separate piece of paper instead of his US passport to avoid creating physical evidence of his trip to North Korea.
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He faces 20 years in prison
Griffith, a US citizen and Singapore resident, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after his conviction. He is scheduled to go on trial next year, on January 18, 2022.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
