
Michael Lewellen, a crypto security expert, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice, criticizing its approach to blockchain code development as “flawed and unjust.”
As a lecturer at Dallas University and a board member of the Texas Blockchain Council, Lewellen initiated this legal action in response to the government’s crackdown on crypto mixers such as Tornado Cash and their developers.
Government prosecutors have aimed to classify platforms like Tornado Cash as money-transmitting services, asserting that blockchain developers write code that could potentially be misused by criminals.
The crypto community has strongly contested this interpretation, arguing that such reasoning is akin to blaming automobile manufacturers for traffic accidents.
A federal judge previously determined that developers of code cannot be held accountable for creating decentralized protocols, leading to Tornado Cash being removed from the Treasury’s sanctions list. Nevertheless, developers of Tornado Cash and individuals linked to other crypto mixers remain under investigation by the DOJ.
This lawsuit aims to protect the ability of innovators to create without fear and to prevent laws from being misapplied to hinder progress. For too long, the Biden administration has exploited ambiguity to intimidate developers away from advancing new technologies or to compel them to relocate outside the USA. This needs to change.
— Michael Lewellen on X
Lewellen’s case outlines three key points: the DOJ lacks the legal authority to prosecute software developers for allegedly operating “money-transmitting businesses,” that the crackdown violates First Amendment rights, and that the Department’s actions infringe on due process.
The lawsuit has the backing of crypto advocacy organization CoinCenter and represents an ongoing industry effort to uphold the right to code.