#Encrypted Developer Sues Attorney General#

Coin Center, a cryptocurrency think tank, researcher Michael Lewellen has sued U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in Texas, asking a judge to guarantee that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will not prosecute his upcoming cryptocurrency project for violating the Money Transmission Act. Lewellen argues that the DOJ's criminal prosecution of software developers who release non-custodial cryptocurrency software, such as the prosecutions of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm and Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez, is unconstitutional, violating the First and Fifth Amendments. He argues that the DOJ's prosecution of cryptocurrency developers "betrays its representations to the public" that it will not treat them as money transmitters unless they have "complete and independent control" over the value of the transfers. Lewellen's lawsuit comes amid growing concerns about government 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 automatically receive their money back if the project is underfunded. The project will also have privacy features to prevent the identities of project donors from being disclosed. Lewellen is seeking to avoid the fate of Rodrigez and Storm through the lawsuit and avoid being prosecuted for creating the Pharos software.