#Encryption Software Developers Sue Attorney General#

Michael Lewellen, a researcher at the cryptocurrency think tank Coin Center, has filed a lawsuit in Texas against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, seeking a judge's 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 prosecution of software developers who release non-custodial cryptocurrency software, such as the prosecution of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm and Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez, is unconstitutional, violating the First and Fifth Amendments. He claims that the Justice Department's prosecutions of cryptocurrency developers "betray its statements to the public" that it will not prosecute them as money transmitters unless they have "full, independent control" over the value being transmitted. Lewellen's lawsuit comes amid growing concerns about government persecution of developers of cryptocurrency privacy software, both in the United States and abroad. Lewellen's lawsuit aims to avoid the fate of Rodrigez and Storm, and his upcoming project, Pharos, is essentially a cryptocurrency-based Kickstarter that will use smart contracts to ensure donors automatically get their funds back if the project is underfunded, and it has privacy features to prevent donors' identities from being disclosed. As the creator and publisher of the Pharos software, Lewellen will not have control over the cryptocurrency that is passed through Pharos. Lewellen's lawsuit reflects concerns about government prosecutions of cryptocurrency developers in the absence of a clear regulatory and legal framework for cryptocurrency.