#Encryption software developer sues attorney general#

Coin Center researcher Michael Lewellen has sued U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in Texas, asking a judge to guarantee that the Justice Department will not prosecute his upcoming cryptocurrency project for violating the Money Transmission Act. Lewellen argues that the Justice Department's criminal charges against software developers who release non-custodial cryptocurrency software, such as the charges against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm and Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez, are unconstitutional and violate the First and Fifth Amendments. He alleges that the Justice Department's prosecution of cryptocurrency developers "betrays its statements to the public" that they will not be treated as money transmitters unless they have "complete independent control" over the value transferred. Lewellen's suit comes amid growing concerns about the government's persecution of developers of crypto privacy software, both in the U.S. and abroad. Lewellen's upcoming project, Pharos, is essentially a cryptocurrency-based Kickstarter that will use a smart contract he calls a "guaranteed contract" to ensure that donors will automatically get their funds back if the project is underfunded. The project will also feature privacy features to prevent the identities of project donors from being publicly disclosed. As the creator and publisher of the Pharos software, Lewellen will only receive a pre-determined fee from successful projects. According to his lawsuit, he will "never control cryptocurrency passing through Pharos." Lewellen's lawsuit seeks to avoid the fate of Rodrigez and Storm, who face up to 45 and 25 years in prison, respectively, on charges related to their work with crypto mixing services. With a lack of clear cryptocurrency regulation and legal frameworks, preemptive lawsuits like Lewellen's are becoming increasingly common.