Michael Lewellen, a Dallas-based blockchain and cryptocurrency entrepreneur, filed a constitutional challenge against the U.S. Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Thursday over its alleged criminalization of software development under the Biden Administration.
Lewellen, represented by Consovoy McCarthy, a small conservative law firm that has frequently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, plans to launch Pharos, a decentralized cryptocurrency platform designed for crowdfunding campaigns. Unlike traditional financial intermediaries, it is “non-custodial,” meaning that Lewellen will not control or manage user funds—features he claimed place his software outside the scope of federal money-transmitting regulations.