Digital Assets, Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
Deep Experience in the Digital Asset Space
Akin is a market leader in the representation of clients in complex matters involving blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. Our practice groups and lawyers have consistently received top rankings in Chambers, The Legal 500 and other industry publications.
Our multidisciplinary team assists clients in addressing legal & regulatory considerations arising from the use of virtual currencies and distributed ledger technologies.
We have represented clients at the forefront of the development of cryptocurrencies with massive market capitalization, as well as clients that have helped to design and implement groundbreaking electronic trading systems used by market participants worldwide.
Services In-Depth
The Impact of Evolving Regulatory Frameworks on Crypto Clients
Akin provides regulatory & compliance counseling and advice across the spectrum of issues and through every stage of a crypto-related transaction, fund formation, investment or matter.
We represent international trade clients on national security and cross-border investigations, enforcement actions and regulatory compliance related to economic sanctions, export controls, anti-corruption rules and regulations.
Our team also counsels clients on cybersecurity, privacy & data protection. From training and incident simulations to developing incident response plans, our team advises on data breaches and domestic & international privacy compliance.
Key Considerations for Crypto Clients: Compliance, Enforcement Defense and Litigation
Our integrated, cross-practice team of former government prosecutors, civil enforcement lawyers, and financial regulatory and compliance standard experts assist trading platforms, proprietary trading firms, market makers, investment managers, and financial institutions that are evaluating new business opportunities and assessing risks to historical practices.
When clients find themselves the focus of investigations, enforcement or litigation, including from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), state attorneys general (AG) and other federal and state authorities (e.g., on complex issues of first impression), our white collar, investigations and litigation teams are right there with our clients every step of the way.
Akin has decades of experience advising on U.S. securities and commodities laws relating to different forms of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, tokens, stablecoins, meme coins, smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi) products. In particular, Akin has broad experience with the formation and regulation of investment funds and accounts investing in all types of digital assets and other frontier technologies. We also counsel clients on anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) compliance, and responding to whistleblower complaints.
The state attorneys general investigations & litigation team handles the full range of AG-related services, including defending enforcement actions involving digital assets. Our congressional investigations group assists clients throughout the investigations process, including in preparing for investigative subpoenas and coordination with legal and PR teams on collateral impact. We also represent crypto clients in private litigation risk and defense matters.
We are also frequently called upon to handle business disputes and private litigation involving digital assets. Our litigation specialists are veteran trial lawyers advising on complex commercial, financial restructuring, securities and financial technology (fintech) disputes and matters, including digital asset, DeFi and other blockchain-related claims and defenses.
Our experience covers a wide variety of disputes, including matters involving partnerships/investors, torts, breach of contract, fraudulent transfers, fictitious entities, breach of fiduciary duties, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) claims, crypto tracing and social engineering fraud, to name a few. Our team’s successes include securing major litigation victories for asset managers investing in crypto, fintech firms, creditor committees, litigation administrators and other market participants.
Go-To Firm for Crypto Transactions
We offer full support to clients on strategic capital investments and transactions involving cryptocurrencies.
Our lawyers have significant experience structuring digital asset companies and platforms, including in the establishment of crypto mining farms. The team delivers capital solutions and our advice spans mergers & acquisitions (M&A), joint ventures (JVs), initial coin offerings (ICOs), initial public offerings (IPOs), Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), Private Investments in Public Equity (PIPEs), tokenizations and other capital markets transactions involving digital assets.
Standing out in the market, the Akin team is behind headline-making chapter 11 proceedings involving crypto companies and some of the industry’s largest financial restructurings, including liability management transactions. Our group also handles distressed investments in crypto assets, Bitcoin treasury transactions (and similar “treasury” strategies), SEC disclosures in the context of corporate and capital markets transactions involving digital assets and general corporate advice.
Launching Innovative Investment Vehicles
With a deep understanding of the challenges unique to investment funds, Akin provides comprehensive regulatory, structuring and tax advice on the formation and operation of investment funds pursuing a variety of digital asset strategies and their related portfolio transactions and ongoing compliance programs.
Next-generation businesses, investors, issuers and companies using digital assets or blockchain technology rely on us to provide guidance on innovative investment vehicles and the compliance risks inherent in each.
We regularly advise investment management clients and their investors in relation to:
- The formation of investment funds focusing on digital assets.
- Fund strategies that span participation in initial issuances of new digital assets to trading of mature assets, mining, staking and coin-lending transactions, or investments in industry participants.
- Operational and tax advice for funds making digital asset investments.
- Investor representation with respect to funds investing in digital assets.
- Regulatory advice for managers focused on digital asset trading, including SEC and CFTC regulations.
Tax Planning Across Investment Structures
Tax advice on blockchain and cryptocurrency matters has never been more critical. We assist clients on the tax implications of digital asset investments and transactions and create innovative tax structures across investment strategies.
Clients rely on us for tax planning and regulatory compliance obligations arising from cryptocurrency offerings, exchanges and operations. We also advise on the treatment of digital assets in the context of lending & financing transactions.
Helping Clients Navigate Crypto Law & Policy
Our renowned lobbying & public policy group comprises lawyers and other professionals focused exclusively on representing clients navigating complex legislative, policy and regulatory matters before Congress and the executive branch amidst dynamic policymaker, staff, procedural, oversight and political considerations.
Our strong substantive experience on issues across the public policy spectrum helps position our clients for success as we collaborate to achieve their objectives. Our team includes former members of Congress and other lawyers and professionals with considerable government service experience, who also engage in political activities for both major U.S. political parties.
Leveraging this formidable experience and expansive network, we help crypto clients proactively engage with key policymakers, craft messaging tailored to regulatory priorities and align with industry coalitions, among other types of advocacy.
Akin’s CryptoLink Newsletter
Every day, Akin’s cross-practice digital assets, cryptocurrency and blockchain team is on the front lines of government enforcement, litigation, trade, policy and regulatory matters involving virtual currencies and blockchain technologies.
For our CryptoLink newsletter, we track developments at the intersection of regulation and enforcement, and share our experiences and insights to give you an edge in understanding how these new platforms affect your business. Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a major player in government enforcement, litigation, policy battles, fund launches, M&A, corporate restructurings and bankruptcies, to name a few. We cover these topics and more in our CryptoLink newsletter—your go-to resource for legal, regulatory and policy developments in the evolving crypto and digital assets ecosystem.
Read the latest edition of CryptoLink.
Representative Work
Regulatory & Compliance
- Represented a digital currency company in connection with an OFAC enforcement action involving alleged sanctions violations involving user activity in embargoed destinations.
- Represented an investment firm in connection with the design of AML compliance infrastructure in a business partnership with a major Latin America based crypto exchange.
- Advising multiple clients in regulatory compliance and government enforcement matters involving cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, as well as ICOs.
- Advising a UAE-based entity seeking to become the first entity licensed by the UAE SCA to establish a crypto asset exchange and conduct crypto custodian services in the UAE, pursuant to the SCA’s new crypto asset regulations. Advised also on data protection policies and internal compliance policies, including conflicts of interest policy, AML-CTF policy, sanctions policy and code of ethics.
- Providing regulatory, tax and corporate advice to a cryptocurrency investor for relocating a business from China to the U.S.
- Advising an EU- and Russian-based cryptocurrency issuer on a wide range of issues, including in relation to U.K. securities law and regulation and counseling on the structuring of three potential cryptocurrency offerings in numerous jurisdictions, including the U.K. and U.S. (being progressed in parallel).
- Providing compliance advice to an individual in connection with potential U.S. or other government investigations against the client or parties affiliated with the client.
- Providing regulatory advice to a hedge fund regarding the expansion of trading to include cryptocurrencies.
Litigation
- Representing crypto-finance firm Celsius Network LLC and its affiliated debtors in connection with special litigation matters:
- Recovered more than $105 million in digital assets after a series of litigation victories against a liquid staker, including a successful motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that froze all of the assets in the Swiss defendant’s possession, custody or control.
- Within weeks of suing a third-party digital asset custodian, recovered all customer cryptocurrency in the custodian’s possession, worth over $25 million.
- Obtained a digital asset freezing order against a former DeFi executive following a two-day evidentiary hearing, in connection with claims seeking turnover of property and damages in excess of $100 million.
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) granted our motion for alternative service, authorizing the Litigation Administrator to serve defendants by airdropping non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into their digital asset accounts. The airdropped NFTs contained a hyperlink to a website with the relevant complaint and summons.
- Achieved a significant victory on behalf of the co-founders and minority shareholders of one of the largest data providers on the blockchain, in a Section 220 books and records action filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
- Representing a fund manager in the digital asset ecosphere in a confidential JAMS arbitration involving contentious, multiple eight-figure disputes among its principals.
- Advised a founder of a blockchain index in a dispute with business partners regarding competing exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
- Representing a fund manager in a confidential JAMS arbitration involving a breach of contract dispute related to an investment in a blockchain based protocol worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Representing a former executive of a cryptocurrency exchange platform in relation to a derivative action in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
