On Jan. 15, the United Nations warned that attending North Korea’s cryptocurrency conference in February will likely constitute a sanctions violation. According to Reuters, this notice was issued in a confidential report that will be submitted to the U.N. Security Council later this month. The warning comes after a series of events sparked suspicion around North Korea’s growing interest in blockchain and cryptocurrency. In August, a panel monitoring the enforcement of U.N. sanctions reported that North Korean agents have generated about $2 billion by stealing money from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges. The leaked report notes that North Korea is …

The United Nations has warned that attending a North Korean cryptocurrency conference in February is likely to constitute a sanctions violation, according to a report by Reuters on Jan. 15. The report follows last week’s indictment of Ethereum Foundation researcher Virgil Griffith on charges of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Griffith traveled to North Korea for its first blockchain and cryptocurrency conference in April last year. While there, he and other conference attendees allegedly discussed cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. The United States government contends that Griffith’s presence could have aided North Korea in skirting international sanctions. …

The Lazarus hacker group, which is allegedly sponsored by the North Korean government, has deployed new viruses to steal cryptocurrency. Major cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reported on Jan. 8 that Lazarus has doubled down its efforts to infect both Mac and Windows users’ computers. The group had been using a modified open-source cryptocurrency trading interface called QtBitcoinTrader to deliver and execute malicious code in what has been called “Operation AppleJeus,” as Kaspersky reported in late August 2018. Now, the firm reports that Lazarus has started making changes to the malware. Kaspersky identified a new macOS and Windows virus named UnionCryptoTrader, which …

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has filed an indictment against Ethereum Foundation researcher Virgil Griffith on Jan. 7. According to a court filing on Jan. 7, a federal grand jury charged Griffith with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The act was introduced in 1977 and is a U.S. federal law authorizing the president to regulate international commerce in case of a national emergency coming from outside the country. Griffith is accused of knowingly and willfully having conspired to violate the measures taken against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea …

This is the final part of a three-part series covering the regulatory landscape for cryptos in 2019 and thinking about the prospects for 2020. The first two parts covered the “Insiders” of Europe, North America and the Pacific Rim, and “Outsider” nations such as China, Russia and India. This piece covers the prospects for the “Experimenters”: countries that have made efforts to foster innovation and welcome crypto projects to their shores. The Experimenters and their different paths into the crypto space The Swiss were the first to discover the power of neutrality in the embattled Europe of the 19th century, …

After having been denied bail on Dec. 26, Ethereum foundation researcher Virgil Griffith has now been released on a $1 million bond on the condition that he stay out of California. On Dec. 30, the Inner City Press reported that the 36-year-old Griffith has been released after a bail appeal hearing earlier today. The hearing took place in front of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Vernon S. Broderick, who granted a $1 million bail and ordered Griffith released, on the condition that he stay with his parents in Alabama for "moral suasion." Despite …

Ethereum Foundation researcher Virgil Griffith has reportedly been denied bail in New York. Currently detained, Griffith is appealing the action. “Griffith was presented yesterday and ordered detained,” James Margolin, the chief public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Southern District of New York, told Cointelegraph in an email on Dec. 27. “He is appealing and there will be [a] hearing before Judge Broderick,” Margolin said, naming Jan. 9 as the preliminary hearing date. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) rejected the option of bail for Griffith, a report from Inner City Press …

Security researchers have discovered a new cryptocurrency-related macOS malware believed to be the product of North Korean hackers at the Lazarus Group. As tech-focused publication Bleeping Computer reported on Dec. 4, malware researcher Dinesh Devadoss encountered a malicious software on a website called “unioncrypto.vip,” that advertised a “smart cryptocurrency arbitrage trading platform.” The website did not cite any download links, but hosted a malware package under the name “UnionCryptoTrader.” Linkage to North Korean hackers According to the researchers, the malware can retrieve a payload from a remote location and run it in memory, which is not common for macOS, but …

Renowned trial attorney Brian Klein has revealed he will represent Virgil Griffith, the developer recently arrested for participating in a blockchain conference in North Korea. In a tweet posted on Dec. 3, Klein stated that his client disputes the “untested allegations in the criminal complaint” and had been temporarily released from jail pending his trial. Klein: Griffith “looks forward to the full story” coming out Klein — who has previously represented the likes of Charlie Shrem and Erik Voorhees — is a former federal prosecutor who currently works as a criminal and regulatory defense attorney at United States law firm …

Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin has declared his solidarity with Virgil Griffith, the American citizen arrested for his blockchain educational activities in North Korea. In a tweet posted on Dec. 1, Vitalik shared a link to a blog post penned by blockchain firm CEO Enrico Talin, which had appealed directly to the Ethereum co-founder to start a petition in support of Griffith. “Let’s not have another Aaron Swartz martyr in our hands,” Talin had written, in reference to the hacker and political activist who killed himself in 2013 ahead of a high-profile federal trial. Buterin: “geopolitical open-mindedness is a *virtue*” …

Today United States prosecutors announced the arrest of Virgil Griffith, who allegedly traveled to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to deliver a presentation on how to use cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to circumvent sanctions. According to the November 29 announcement, the 36-year-old Griffith was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport, and will be charged with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The charges carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman stated: “As alleged, Virgil Griffith provided highly technical information to North Korea, knowing that this information …

The world is a constantly changing place — and from an economic standpoint, things are dramatically shifting, too. Two major superpowers, the United States and China, are embroiled in a dramatic trade war where tit-for-tat tariffs have been placed on goods — breeding uncertainty for consumers and businesses alike and making everyday products more expensive. The United Kingdom is still embroiled in a messy divorce from the European Union, and Russia is ratcheting up tensions with its neighbors in the West. All of this geopolitical drama has two effects. Firstly, it can wreak havoc on the markets, wiping billions of …