The Ethereum co-founder admitted that the visit to the DPRK was not a good idea

Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum co-founder, has declared his solidarity with the developer Virgil Griffith. He was recently arrested for his blockchain educational activities in North Korea.

In a tweet published on December 1, Vitalik explained:

“Geopolitical openness is a virtue. It is admirable to go to a group of people, whom someone has been trained since childhood to believe that there is a Maximum Enemy of Evil and find out what they have to say. The world would be better if more of us made the effort to find out other points of view. ”

Buterin also claims he does not believe that Griffith has granted North Korea (DPRK) “any real help in doing something wrong.” He made only a presentation based on open-source software already accessible to the public.

“There was no hacking instruction or advanced tutorials”,

Buterin said. The Ethereum co-founder acknowledged that the visit to the DPRK was not a good idea, as many advised Griffith not to go.

Arrested at the “Blockchain and Peace” conference

Griffith, a 36-year-old US citizen living in Singapore, was arrested on November 29. He is accused of conspiring to violate the International Law on Economic Powers (IEEPA).

The US Department of Justice accused Griffith of providing

“Extremely technical information to North Korea, knowing that this information could be used to help North Korea launder money and evade economic sanctions.”

In April, the developer illegally traveled to North Korea to give a presentation at the “Blockchain and Peace” conference.