Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Distributed ledger technologies are disrupting traditional business models in nearly every industry sector and creating opportunities for both established and emerging companies.

As policymakers try to balance their desire to foster innovation with protecting public interest, the sector continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Navigating these waters can be a daunting task, even for those familiar with the industry.

Distributed ledger technologies will play a greater role in solving complex business problems across all industries. While cryptocurrencies – the best-known application of distributed ledger technology – may serve as a digital exchange of value – they are also serving as the ​“building blocks” of other applications. Companies, along with a number of government agencies and state governments are exploring and applying these technologies to:

  • administer medical records
  • trace products in supply chains
  • enable energy trading
  • permit assets such as energy, land, and water to be disaggregated into tokenized mini-assets
  • create smart contracts

We advise companies across the entire FinTech industry, including, trading and clearing, lending, financial information services, retail and consumer banking, bill payment, money transfer and remittance, crowd funding, and non-fungible tokens.

Companies need to understand the legal and regulatory considerations as they develop and implement these technologies.

Our team leverages the firm’s depth of experience to help clients harness the potential of distributed ledger technology while mitigating related risks.

Team Members

Investigations, Enforcement, and Litigation

  • Advising on all aspects of anti-money laundering (AML) rules and regulations
  • Counseling companies on compliance with Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions regulations, including sanctions compliance best practices specific to virtual currency companies
  • Defending against and advising on investigations and enforcement by government regulators, including federal, state and local
  • Advising on commercial, consumer, class action, regulatory, intellectual property, and appellate litigation

Regulatory, Compliance, and Public Policy

  • Providing advocacy for legislation, rule changes, and exemptive relief for companies in the digital assets space
  • Assisting with regulatory approvals and ongoing regulatory advice related to digital asset products and platforms
  • Advising on compliance with specific state and federal regulations governing banking and trust operations and relationships

Intellectual Property

  • Advising on licensing arrangements, collaborations, and acquisitions of digital products and platforms
  • Counseling clients with intellectual property issues including trademark, copyright, patent infringement, and protection

Payments

  • Helping clients understand their legal obligations, amidst increasing regulatory scrutiny of the payments industry
  • Providing regulatory advise on virtual exchanges and digital wallets to payment processing companies
  • Advising in connection with emerging payment technologies and partnerships, including, acceptance of new cryptocurrencies, money transmission, electronic and mobile payments, digital wallets, stored value and other payment instruments

Privacy

  • Advising on privacy and data security, including in the context of digital ID and authentication systems
  • Counseling on privacy concerns closely related to data theft in the cryptocurrency space
  • Advising on cybersecurity and incident response

Corporate/Securities

  • Assisting with and advising on investments, investment vehicles, product structuring, and fund formation (public and private)
  • Providing securities advice related to token offerings, including initial coin offerings (ICOs), security token offerings (STOs), and equity token offerings (ETOs)
  • Advising on capital market activities for blockchain companies and investors
  • Counseling non-fungible token (NFT) platforms and companies on corporate formation and structure
  • Assisting NFT platforms and companies in developing and implementing terms of service for NFT creation
  • Advising on trading and market regulation
  • Counseling on when a digital asset constitutes an investment contract

Venture Capital and Private Equity

  • Assisting with business entity planning for emerging companies working with blockchain and distributed ledger technologies

Technology and Outsourcing

  • Advising on complex technology transactions involving companies in multiple jurisdictions
  • Counseling on delivery models and managing issues unique to these complex transactions, including allocating currency exchange and inflation risks, and dealing with data privacy and export controls
  • Advising on dispute resolution proceedings, especially with large-scale enterprise projects

Energy

  • Reviewing the crypto mining process, which can be energy-intensive, and analyzing the diverse ways that mining facilities can incorporate green practices into their business models

Tax Considerations

  • Advising on tax treatment of digital assets and transactions involving digital assets.

Supply Chain

  • Advising on potential modifications to contract terms in blockchain supply agreements
  • Advising buyers to consider whether it would be beneficial to contractually require its suppliers to join the buyer’s supply chain blockchain
  • Advising whether parties to a supply agreement will need to decide whether a supply agreement should detail which transactions can (or must) occur on the blockchain, or whether the parties should set forth which transactions should occur on the blockchain in a separate agreement governing the implementation, governance, funding, and maintenance of the supply chain blockchain
  • Advising whether a buyer must place purchase orders or releases through the blockchain system
  • Counseling a buyer who will make payment automatically via smart contract at the time of product acceptance to be very precise in the supply agreement as to when product acceptance occurs