#Encrypted developers sue attorney general#

Michael Lewellen, a researcher at cryptocurrency think tank Coin Center, has sued U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in Texas, asking the court to guarantee that the Justice Department won't prosecute his forthcoming cryptocurrency project, Pharos, for alleged violations of the Money Transmission Act. Lewellen argues that the Justice Department's criminal prosecutions of software developers who publish non-custodial cryptocurrency software, such as the prosecution of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm and Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez, are unconstitutional and violate the First and Fifth Amendments. He argues that the Justice Department's prosecutions of cryptocurrency developers "betray their representations to the public" that they would not be treated as money transmitters unless they had "completely independent control" over the value transmitted. Lewellen's lawsuit comes amid growing concern about government persecution of developers of crypto privacy software, both in the U.S. and abroad. Lewellen's lawsuit seeks to avoid the fate of Rodrigez and Storm, his project, Pharos, is essentially a cryptocurrency-based Kickstarter that would use smart contracts to ensure that donors would automatically receive their money back if the project failed to fund, while also providing privacy features. Lewellen, as the creator and publisher of the Pharos software, would only receive a predetermined fee if the project succeeded, and he claims that he "will never control cryptocurrencies that pass through Pharos."