Digital Assets and Blockchain

Litigation

• Won a groundbreaking jury verdict for the Vice Chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald in a securities fraud class-action civil suit accusing him and two cryptocurrency mining companies of perpetuating a Ponzi scheme in which plaintiffs allegedly lost over $20 million.
• Representation of an individual defendant in a securities, conspiracy and fraud case involving the Let’s Go Brandon meme coin.
• Due diligence for client on litigation exposure of a potential acquisition target based on an ICO.
• Advising foreign entities on whether digital tokens constitute securities under U.S. federal securities law. 
• Representation of multiple issuers seeking securities regulatory advice in connection with potential Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

Enforcement and Internal Investigations 

• Representation of Gemini Trust Company, LLC, a leading U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, in its response to an industrywide investigation by New York’s Attorney General.
• Representation of an individual in connection with a high-profile cryptocurrency criminal investigation and related charges brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York involving billions of dollars worldwide.
• Advising a leading virtual currency company in connection with an OFAC enforcement action related to potential sanctions violations.
• Representation of a global telecommunications provider and wholly owned Pakistan-based bank in connection with an internal investigation involving its mobile-to-mobile payment platform, conducted full AML/CFT compliance gap assessment, and implementation of remedial measures.

Compliance

• Representation of a multinational luxury goods company in evaluating various cryptocurrency exchanges and related compliance counseling in connection with the establishment of a cryptocurrency payment structure.
• Advising Asia-based mobile financial services provider in connection with compliance with the implementation of multilateral sanctions.
• Representation of a global esports and entertainment organization in connection with an internal investigation and potential enforcement actions and litigation related to participation in the launch of a cryptocurrency.

Intellectual Property

• Representation of multiple clients regarding intellectual property aspects of cryptocurrency and blockchain innovations, including consulting agreements, patent applications and licensing agreements.

Corporate 

• Representation of Sotheby’s auction house in: 
  • a strategic investment in leading non-fungible token (“NFT”) development studio and commerce suite Mojito; and
  • multiple strategic entertainment partnerships, NFT purchase-sale terms and metaverse platform agreements under which Sotheby’s developed, launched and currently operates Sotheby’s Metaverse.
• Representation of Phillips auction house on all aspects of selling NFTs, including author-generated sales, secondary sales, consideration of fractional NFTs, contracts, acceptance of cryptocurrency for transactions, risk analysis, AML and securities analysis.
• Representation of Grab Holdings, Inc. in connection with creation of Grab Financial Group (“GFG”), Grab’s fintech platform, and formation of a digital bank joint venture among GFG and a consortium including telecom giant Singapore Telecommunications.
• Representation of a leading cryptocurrency founder in providing corporate, tax, securities and wealth-planning advice with respect to conversion of cryptocurrency fortune to fiat currency.
• Representation of multiple issuers in connection with adding blockchain risk and tax disclosures to company disclosure documents.
• Representation of multiple clients in connection with financial services-driven products, offerings and solution licensing, and development and distribution arrangements, including online banking, travel booking, merchant, gateway, settlement, payment and e-commerce solutions (blockchain, distributed ledger, crowd-funded), money wire and funds transfer, point of sale, card industry standards (PCI) and fraud-detection solutions and agreements. 
• Representation of an asset manager in connection with launching an institutional-quality digital assets fund, including company structuring, providing securities and tax advice, and preparing formation and offering documents.