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US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

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Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#211

Post by spicymaki »

pen2l wrote: post #20

Did his PhD at Caltech under Christof Koch in computation and neural systems, was a super talented mathematician... and then he gets involved in crypto. I remember conversations with friends only a few years ago in which we would lament how young brilliant minds were eventually going on to work on adtech, and we would sigh and hope that the tide would turn. Boy, we were not prepared for this tide. Anyway, the NYSD re…

Indeed. +1 to this. The most talented among us could be building a better world, yet they are wasting time in rent seeking schemes.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#212

Post by kube-system »

etherael wrote: post #167
kube-system wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cryptocurrencies have no way to unilaterally accomplish that. Bitcoin can’t stop anyone from knocking down your door and taking your belongings. It doesn’t work without access to communication technology. It doesn’t do anything to circumvent barriers to trade in the physical world. Trade requires two transfers. And, you can’t eat a bitcoin. The only people in NK who have the ability to use bitcoin in trade are the po…

You can store crypto in your head, and you can certainly use it to put together funds which would be helpful to escape.

I'd really like to hear how you think that would physically take place.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#213

Post by csours »

From yesterday's Money Stuff (not about this incident):

"Yeah. There is a vein of crypto libertarianism that imagines that you can have money that is immune from the claims of society, but that’s only really true if the rest of your life is immune from the claims of society. If you live alone on a faraway island and have a lot of weapons then sure right maybe the authorities can’t seize your Bitcoins. (Though you also can’t use your Bitcoins to, like, order pizza delivery.) But if they can toss you in jail until you cough up your Bitcoins, then the Bitcoins aren’t doing that much for you."

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-04-12/will-e...

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#214

Post by tptacek »

vkou wrote: post #209
tristor wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Interesting implications for the case of Cuba. If so, their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA. So much for arguments of respecting national autonomy. I believe their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA, that is unfriendly to US interests, and at least once offered the USSR, a then enemy of the US, to host nuclear ICBMs on their territory so they could more eas…

> to host nuclear ICBMs on their territory so they could more easily target Americans. ... After the United States invaded it! It's weird that you forget to mention the Bay of Pigs in this history lesson. It's not like Cuba randomly and unilaterally decided to host ICBMs...

Doesn't matter. Like Clint Eastwood said, "deserve's got nothing to with it".

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#215

Post by hnaccount_rng »

nickysielicki wrote: post #144
jvanderbot wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're over-reacting. Stories like this tend to be rorschach tests, and it's easy to see what you believe in these vague details. In fact, it appears he was helping NK avoid sanctions by using crypto, in an effort to increase crypto acceptance in NK. The details are (apparently) in the original complaint. Bad journalism/summaries strike again? > It looks like it wasn't just speaking at a conference after bein…

Well you’ll have to forgive me because TFA mentioned none of that.

TIL: Articles on the internet can be misleading or outright wrong ;)

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#216

Post by beaconstudios »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #188
beaconstudios wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are sanctions that are worthy of criticism - the decades-long sanction on Cuba, for instance, even though I disagree with their regime - but North Korea is pretty transparently a despotic regime that should be opposed.

I have yet to hear a convincing argument how sanctions do anything aside from impoverish the 25 million people living in North Korea. They don't bring about regime change, They don't impose hardship on the despots, and they don't take away nuclear capability from North Korea.

They limit trade with NK, unfortunately that probably does contribute to impoverishing the people, alongside NK's own practices doing so, but as I understand it the point of sanctions is to stop material aid (trade, gifts, tech sharing etc) that would be used to empower the NK, which includes their military and nuclear capabilities. I don't know if the US itself allows food or medical aid to be sent, but I do know that NK receive a lot of food aid.

Honestly I don't know how to feel about sanctions more generally, whether they help or harm the citizenry - but I'm not convinced that enabling the NK government to transact with crypto would lead to improvements in the regular people's lives, compared with them having greater access to military equipment.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#217

Post by s1artibartfast »

tristor wrote: post #186
s1artibartfast wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting implications for the case of Cuba. If so, their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA. So much for arguments of respecting national autonomy.

> Interesting implications for the case of Cuba. If so, their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA. So much for arguments of respecting national autonomy. I believe their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA, that is unfriendly to US interests, and at least once offered the USSR, a then enemy of the US, to host nuclear ICBMs on their territory so they could more eas…

It sounds like we basically agree. I just find it a timely discussion with respect to Ukraine and the fact that the US positions nuclear assets all over the world.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#218

Post by pwdisswordfish9 »

danielvf wrote: post #71

According to the original complaint, a few months after being interviewed by an FBI agent on returning from his trip to North Korea, Griffith had the following conversation over text messages: Griffith: I need to send 1 [REDACTED UNIT OF CRYPTOCURRENCY] between North and South Korea. Other Guy: "Isn't that in violations of sanctions?" Griffith: It is. A few day later, also in text messages to someone else: Someone: W…

> [REDACTED UNIT OF CRYPTOCURRENCY]

???

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#219

Post by vkou »

tptacek wrote: post #214
vkou wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> to host nuclear ICBMs on their territory so they could more easily target Americans. ... After the United States invaded it! It's weird that you forget to mention the Bay of Pigs in this history lesson. It's not like Cuba randomly and unilaterally decided to host ICBMs...

Doesn't matter. Like Clint Eastwood said, "deserve's got nothing to with it".

And here I thought that since march of this year, we're of the general impression that countries have the right to defend themselves, and to seek external allies when bullied by a bigger neighbour...

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#220

Post by nradov »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #134
behringer wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine knowing literally anything about north Korea and wanting to help that government. He should be put away for life for aiding crimes against humanity.

You can know that North Korean government does bad things but still be against sanctions. It is not self evident that broad sections help the situation or the people of NK.

The point of sanctions is not to help the people of NK. The point is to starve their military of resources and reduce the threat they pose to the US and our regional allies. If the people of NK are harmed in the process then that's just unfortunate collateral damage. And no one is under any illusions that sanctions alone will result in regime change or eliminate the threat entirely; sanctions are just one essential component of a broader strategy.
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