PANews reported on January 17 that according to CoinDesk, blockchain entrepreneur Michael Lewellen filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking the court to rule that his upcoming crypto crowdfunding project Pharos does not violate unlicensed money transmission laws. Lewellen accused the Department of Justice of violating the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by prosecuting crypto software developers (such as Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm and Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez), and contradicted the Department of Justice's previous public statement that developers are not considered money transmitters.

Lewellen's project Pharos is an Ethereum-based crypto crowdfunding platform that uses smart contracts to ensure that projects that fail to raise funds automatically return funds and protect the privacy of donors.