Altcoin
Ethereum’s Controversial Developer Freed Before Full Sentence
Virgil Griffith, a former Ethereum developer who worked on the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), has been released from prison on parole and relocated to a halfway house.
Updates posted on X on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, disclosed that Griffith is now starting his return to civilian life after serving some of his sentence for violating US sanctions.
Ethereum Developer’s Prison Release Confirmed By Sources
Brantly Milegan, executive director of Ethereum Identity Foundation, broke the news with a photo of Griffith and his parents outside the prison. Alexander Urbelis, ENS general counsel and part of Griffith’s legal team, confirmed his release from FCI Milan in Michigan.
VIRGIL GRIFFITH IS OUT OF PRISON!!!
just released this morning! he’ll be in a halfway house for a few weeks, and parole after that with work restrictions (so a pardon is still important), but HE IS OUT 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/Q4jRZmryGk
— brantly.eth (@BrantlyMillegan) April 9, 2025
Griffith was arrested in November 2019 after speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea. Prosecutors claimed his presentation provided information that could help North Korea evade sanctions and launder money.
From 63 Months To 56: The Sentence Journey
In 2022, Griffith was sentenced to 63 months in prison and meted a fine of $100,000 after pleading guilty to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In July 2024, US District Judge Kevin Castel lowered his sentence to 56 months, citing him as a first-time offender.
ETHUSD trading at $1,598 on the daily chart: TradingView.com
Crypto Return Faces Serious Hurdles
Griffith himself starts a several-year probation term. His attorneys are fighting to transfer him from the halfway house to home confinement, but returning to regular life is hindered.
The Department of Commerce placed severe export restrictions on Virgil that will extend until 2032, Urbelis explained. These limits could block his return to the cryptocurrency field.
Presidential Pardon Possibility Under Trump Administration
Before joining Ethereum, Griffith earned a Ph.D. from Caltech and created WikiScanner, a tool tracking anonymous Wikipedia edits. He also worked with Aaron Swartz on Tor2web.
According to Urbelis, Griffith is seeking a pardon from US President Donald Trump. Trump has previously granted clemency to others in crypto-related cases, including Ross Ulbricht and Arthur Hayes.
The case has triggered debate about sharing open-source information versus helping sanctioned nations. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has supported Griffith, even signing a petition calling for his release in 2023.
Featured image from Thiessen Law Firm, chart from TradingView
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In the wake of the jarring incident around Mantra, community members are calling for Pi Network to glean valuable lessons from the black swan event. Pseudonymous cryptocurrency analyst Dr Altcoin wants the PiCoreTeam (PCT) to establish key guardrails to prevent a repeat of the OM incident for the Pi Network.
The OM Incident Is A Huge Lesson For Pi Network
Cryptocurrency expert Dr Altcoin has urged the Pi Network to learn valuable lessons from the grim Mantra (OM) incident. According to a post on X, Dr Altcoin called on the PiCoreTeam to lay a proper foundation to prevent steep price drops for token prices.
The price of Mantra (OM) fell from $6.32 to $0.57 in one steep drop that left investors scratching their heads. OM, once ranked among the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, tumbled by over 90% in a day, stoking speculations of a rug pull.
While the official explanation puts the blame on liquidations, a consensus is forming that the steep drop is a “carefully orchestrated dump.” Market losses totaled $6 billion as a cohort of crypto traders lost $400 million after buying OM three days before the incident.
However, Dr Altcoin wants the PCT to speed up the development of ecosystem guardrails to prevent a repeat of the incident for Pi Network. Dr Altcoin has his eyes on the clock, urging the PCT to set up robust infrastructure before the transition to open mainnet.
“The OM incident is a wake-up call for the entire crypto industry – proof that stricter regulations are urgently needed,” said Dr Altcoin. “It also serves as a HUGE lesson for the PCT as we transition from the Open Network to the Open Mainnet.
Belief In the PiCoreTeam Is Waning
While a cross-section of community members will argue that the PCT is not scheming a rug pull, there is rising dissent in the ecosystem. Dr Altcoin remarks that faith in the PCT is waning given a trail of transparency issues facing the Pi Network in recent weeks.
“One thing is clear about the PCT,” wrote Dr Altcoin on X. “They are not transparent.”
Questions about the PCT’s transparency first reared its head over the murkiness of the locking and burning mechanism for Pi Coins. Furthermore, delays in issuing KYB approvals for projects leading to PiDaoSwap launching NFTs on the Binance Chain inflamed soured optimism for the PCT.
Dr Altcoin notes that if the PCT fast-tracks the KYB process for centralized exchanges, it will unlock the floodgates of demand for Pi ahead of the transition
At the moment, Pi miners are capitulating casting a shadow of doubt over the direction of Pi Coin price. Pi Coin is on the rise, climbing by nearly 30% over the last seven days to trade at $0.7404 but the specter of a drop to 0.3 hangs like a Sword of Damocles.
Aliyu Pokima
Aliyu Pokima is a seasoned cryptocurrency and emerging technologies journalist with a knack for covering needle-moving stories in the space. Aliyu delivers breaking news stories, regulatory updates, and insightful analysis with depth and precision. When he’s not poring over charts or following leads, Aliyu enjoys playing the bass guitar, lifting weights and running marathons.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
Canada is set to launch the world’s first spot Solana ETFs after receiving regulatory approval from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). The green light allows several issuers, including Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ, to list their Solana ETFs.
The new financial products will be available to investors starting April 16, 2025, marking an important development in the cryptocurrency investment space.
Canada Approves Multiple Spot Solana ETFs
According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, the OSC approved multiple SOL ETFs today. These ETFs will hold actual Solana tokens rather than relying on futures contracts, offering investors direct exposure to the cryptocurrency.
Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ are among the firms that have secured approval to launch these innovative products.
The launch of these ETFs coincides with an upward surge in the price of Solana. Over the past week, the price of Solana has seen a notable increase of 25%. Experts suggest that the growing institutional interest in Solana, further bolstered by these ETF products, could soon lead to even greater price appreciation. As the world’s first spot Solana ETFs hit the market, the launch is a critical step forward for altcoin-based investment products.
Staking Features and Yield Benefits
The newly approved SOL ETFs will engage in staking, which offers potential benefits for ETF investors, including enhanced returns compared to traditional investments.
Staking can improve yields and offset holding costs, making these ETFs more attractive. However, according to Balchunas, TD Bank will assist in processing staking information but will not directly facilitate it.
Staking could provide an edge for SOL ETFs over other cryptocurrency ETFs, such as Ethereum-based ETFs, especially with US SEC delaying Grayscale’s ETH Spot ETF staking proposal. The yield from staking and the token’s performance could offer additional incentives for investors looking to diversify their portfolios.
Solana Whale Moves and Growing ETF Expectations in the US
The approval of spot SOL ETFs in Canada comes during heightened activity in the Solana market. Amid the market activity, a whale moved 762,416 SOL, worth approximately $101 million, according to Whale Alert.
In another instance, 790,427 SOL, valued at over $105 million, was moved between unknown wallets. These large-scale transactions suggest that whales, or large holders of Solana, are preparing for future moves, possibly in anticipation of the market momentum the new ETFs could trigger. The approval of the first spot Solana ETFs in Canada follows the recent launch of the first-ever XRP ETF, Teucrium 2x Long Daily, in the U.S.
Concurrently, several major firms have already filed for approval to offer SOL ETFs in the United States. These firms include Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, VanEck, and Franklin Templeton. In addition to the Canadian approval, market expectations for the approval of SOL ETFs in the United States are rising. Polymarket traders now assign an 81% probability to approving a Solana ETF by the end of 2025, up from just 65% in early 2025.
Kelvin Munene Murithi
Kelvin is a distinguished writer with expertise in crypto and finance, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science. Known for his incisive analysis and insightful content, he possesses a strong command of English and excels in conducting thorough research and delivering timely cryptocurrency market updates.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
A renowned crypto market analyst has forecasted a highly bullish outlook for Dogecoin price against the backdrop of a crypto market recovery. On Monday, April 14, analyst Ali Martinez revealed that DOGE could hit $0.29 ahead, given its price sustains a break above $0.17. Notably, the dog-themed meme coin is currently resting at the $0.16 price level, rebounding from as low as $0.13 over the past week.
Analyst Forecasts $0.29 As Next Target For Dogecoin Price
Ali Martinez revealed via an X post that the Dogecoin price is gearing up for a big week. Particularly, a close above $0.17 paves the road for the next price levels at $0.21 or even $0.29, per the analyst.
As long as the meme coin holds key support at $0.13, the chances of such a bullish feat remain highly optimistic. As mentioned above, the price has already visited the $0.13 support over the past week, although it also recovered back to previous highs.
At the time of reporting, DOGE token’s price traded at $0.1659, up 0.5% over the day and roughly 20% over the week. Crypto market traders and investors remain highly optimistic, expecting the dog-themed token to cross $0.17 soon amid its price recovery.
Can DOGE Also Hit A New ATH?
Meanwhile, another renowned crypto market has predicted a highly bullish scenario for the meme token amid a broader recovery. Javon Marks noted in an X post that the token is “looking ready to put on yet another magical bullish performance to new all-time highs.”
Notably, the analyst stresses that the price could gain at least +200% to +330% above $0.73, an ATH reached by the token as of May 2021. This bullish prediction has added to market optimism about DOGE price action ahead.
Also, analyst Trader Tardigrade recently broadcasted a bullish forecast for the same token, cementing investor bullishness. According to Tardigrade, Dogecoin price has entered phase D in “Wyckoff Accumulation,” signaling that massive gains are imminent.
Wyckoff Accumulation is a trading mechanism by Richard Wyckoff that is used to understand how smart money (whales) accumulate assets before a major price move up. Particularly, Phase D in this phase suggests strong support from buyers, paving the road for the last phase, E. Phase E characterizes an end in accumulation trends followed by a strong, sustained uptrend.
Moreover, a DOGE price prediction by CoinGape further revealed that bulls remain dominant over the crypto, per the 3-month bias indicator. In conclusion, broader market sentiments about the meme coin’s price remain highly bullish in the wake of top analysts predicting a massive rally ahead.
Coingape Staff
CoinGape comprises an experienced team of native content writers and editors working round the clock to cover news globally and present news as a fact rather than an opinion. CoinGape writers and reporters contributed to this article.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
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