Blockchain Technology and Digital Assets
Schulte has been at the intersection of private capital and digital assets since we helped launch the first crypto hedge fund in 2013. Today, as digital assets have moved from the periphery to become a firmly established alternative asset class, we leverage the full force of Schulte’s experience in investment management, M&A, corporate finance, risk management, compliance and restructuring to help clients across the entire digital assets and blockchain technology ecosphere achieve their business objectives.
We help private investment firms form funds that invest in the full range of crypto and blockchain-related strategies, including open-end, venture and hybrid structures. We advise digital asset and blockchain funds on upper-tier structuring and employment issues and address related tax concerns.
Representations
- Civil Litigation
- Advised Pantera Capital, the first US bitcoin investment firm and one of the largest institutional owners of cryptocurrencies, in its formation, and subsequently handled one of the first major securities disputes involving a cryptocurrency fund.
- Regulatory Litigation
- Represented and led a vigorous defense of a major digital asset lending platform in parallel investigations brought by numerous federal and state regulatory agencies related to the company’s offering of an interest-earning product. This led to the negotiation of a favorable settlement that resolved all charges against the company.
- Advising one of the world’s largest investors on how to respond to non-public inquiries it received from US federal regulators regarding its cryptocurrency investments.
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Advised FinTech investment firm on an examination of their business and operations by the SEC and updates to their regulatory policies as a result of the examination.
- Advised Wave Financial on entering into – and how to navigate the ever-evolving regulatory compliance issues around – the growing market of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
- Payments
- Represented Tiger Global Management - one of the largest investors in the financial technology space - in relation to its potential investment, alongside others, in Copper, a services provider to financial institutions trading in cryptocurrencies.
- Represented a new digital asset exchange in connection with analyzing and advising on New York BitLicense licensing and regulation, state money transmitter licensing and regulation, and federal money services business registration and compliance.
