Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was sentenced to 63 months in prison, or about five years, in 2022 for violating sanctions laws when he traveled to North Korea in 2019 to "demonstrate and provide technical advice on the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to evade sanctions." US District Judge Kevin Castel this week ordered Griffith's sentence to be reduced by seven months to 56 months. "While the court did note the defendant's'irregularities' while in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, the need to protect the public from the defendant's further criminality has diminished, and the court also noted the significant hardship the defendant experienced while incarcerated," the judge said.