They arrest Argentine developer for “misuse” of Ethereum
An Argentine developer identified in the social network X as “Fede’s Intern” alerted from the city of Esmirnia, Turkey, about his arrest by, supposedly, “helping others to make a misuse of Ethereum.” He denies the accusations, stating that he is only an infrastructure builder. Confirms that you are receiving legal assistance to resolve the situation.
On Sunday, August 10 “Fede’s Intern”, he shook the community when denouncing, which It is in custody of the Turkish authorities.
“They tell my lawyer that I helped people abuse Ethereum and could have a position,” wrote the developer, who identifies himself as an Argentine expert in ZK and Ethereum.
Immediately, he categorically rejected the charges. “Obviously it is wrong, we are only infrastructure builders,” he said, while declared his willingness to cooperate with the authorities.
In subsequent publications, he informed that his legal team already assists it and that He hopes to leave Türkiye to Europe Soon, once your situation is clarified.
The vagueness of the charges has generated a whirlwind of speculations and doubts on the X platform. Users such as 0xcenk question the “legal basis” of a detention for such reasons, which feeds the uncertainty about the case.
Faced with the doubts, the “Fede’s Intern” replied firmly: “[Estoy] Hoping to share more information until I am out of the country and my lawyer gives me green light … I don’t know what hell won inventing that this happened to me.
Its public profile links it with key ecosystem projects, including the Investment Firm Lambda Class and the Decentralized Finance Infrastructure Company (DEFI) Aligned.
This Monday, August 11, the developer shared a new update in X, indicating: «I still couldn’t leave. In theory, I go out in 3 hours. As soon as I land in Europe, I will explain everything we know. Thank you all for helping me out of here. They wanted to take my phone because they considered it a risk for security, but thanks to the calls of some friends, they did not.
So far, There has been no official pronouncement of the Ethereum Foundation nor of any of the companies linked to the developer, which leaves in the air the position of these organizations in front of the current events.
The developer’s complaint coincides with the recent tightening of cryptocurrency regulations in Türkiye, including new licensing standards and transaction limits. In fact, the Board of Capital Markets of Türkiye (CMB) has taken drastic measures by blocking 46 websites, including Pancakeswap, for operating services with cryptocurrencies without official authorization.
The case of Fede’s Intern brings to mind one of the most controversial, when Virgil Griffith, An outstanding Ethereum developer was convicted 63 months in prison in the United States for violating sanctions against North Korea.
As Cryptonoticia reported in 2022, Griffith, who played a key role in the first years of the Ethereum Network, was sentenced by Judge Kevin Castel, from the Southern District of New York, after participating in the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference in 2019, where he provided educational conferences on cryptocurrencies.
At that time, American justice argues that these activities, considered a violation of the International Emergency Emergency Powers Law (IEEPA), could have helped North Korea to evade economic sanctions, in a context of political rivalry with the Asian nation.
