U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel ordered this week that the sentence of Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith be reduced by 7 months to 56 months. The judge said: "While the court does note the defendant's 'irregularities' during his prison custody, the need to protect the public from further criminal conduct by the defendant has been somewhat lost. The court also notes the great difficulties the defendant has experienced during his imprisonment." Griffith traveled to North Korea in 2019 to "give demonstrations and provide technical advice on the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to evade sanctions," in violation of sanctions law, and he was sentenced to 63 months in prison in 2022. (The Block)