Regulatory
Fintech and Digital Assets
We advise traditional and emerging companies around the globe on regulatory, enforcement, transactional and litigation matters in fintech, leveraging unparalleled experience in private practice, in-house, and at senior levels of government.
Advised the first
embedded finance solution to be fully licensed in the U.S.
Group is led by three former senior officials from the Department of Justice, the CFTC and the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks.
Counsel to the largest digital asset exchange globally
Negotiated a complex, multi-jurisdictional resolution with four Federal agencies into alleged violation of anti-money laundering requirements, sanctions laws, and other statutes
Overview
Fintech presents opportunities for companies in virtually every sector of the economy. With these opportunities come requirements, risks and expectations that may be unfamiliar, and for which companies may be unprepared. The pace of innovation has further amplified the challenges and can threaten the viability of these ventures.
Gibson Dunn recognizes the strategic imperative facing both new market entrants and incumbent players in fintech. In response, we have developed a market-leading offering that brings together a diverse set of capabilities — advisory, transactional, policy, and supervision and enforcement — which, when deployed together, enable our clients to accelerate growth seamlessly around the world.
Regulatory Leadership and Global Expertise
Ours is a team with diverse backgrounds and deep experience. It has unparalleled depth based on experience in private practice, in-house and at senior levels of government, including at FinCEN, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Office of Foreign Asset Control, the New York Department of Financial Services and other state agencies. This range of perspectives allows us to offer comprehensive strategic insights that address the needs of our clients, while balancing the expectations of their regulators and other stakeholders.
Multi-Jurisdictional Policy Shapers
We are well-positioned to advocate for our clients before administrative agencies, legislative bodies, and tribunals around the world, and to help our clients navigate new developments and develop sustainable regulatory strategies that enable them to grow their businesses and offer their products and services globally.
Cross-Cutting Regulatory Advice
Clients benefit from our deep understanding of regulators across critical markets. Our lawyers’ advice is informed by prior service in government, whether as senior federal and state regulators, as federal prosecutors, or in other high-ranking positions. This experience and in-depth knowledge of governmental agencies positions our clients to develop and execute on proactive regulatory strategies. Should matters turn contentious, we are poised to respond to the most complex investigation and enforcement actions brought by regulators in critical markets, whether in the United States, Europe or Asia.
Significantly, we are able to translate market insights into actionable policy goals. The future of fintech is being decided in the halls of legislatures and in related institutions, and it is critical that we support our clients. We have the insight and relationships that enable our clients to engage actively in the policy dialogue, whether in the legislative or the regulatory sphere. In addition to facilitating engagement with policymakers, we can help maximize those opportunities by translating market insights into content more readily consumed by policy-oriented audiences.
International Prowess
Our lawyers deliver advice seamlessly around the world. They have a current, substantive and technical understanding that sets them apart. Our multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary practice allows us to be nimble and provide unparalleled legal, regulatory, transactional, investigatory and litigation support throughout the world, including in jurisdictions critical to the fintech ecosystem, including the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
We have effectively defended significant matters before the prudential regulators in jurisdictions from every corner of the world, including:
- New York State Department of Financial Services
- Federal Reserve
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- U.S. Department of Justice
- FinCEN
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom
- Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority
- Monetary Authority of Singapore
- German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority
- European Central Bank
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission
“I have absolute confidence in Gibson Dunn lawyers to tackle cutting-edge matters including the intersection of tech and financial services risks.”
Chambers USA
Experience
Recent representations include:
- Binance Holdings Limited: Represented Binance as lead counsel in a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional government investigation.
- Coinbase Global, Inc.: Represented Coinbase Global in a lawsuit against the SEC to force digital asset rulemaking.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co: Advised JPMorgan on the acquisition LayerOne Financial’s assets, enhancing JPMorgan’s product offerings to include an electronic trading platform for investment professionals.
- Payward, Inc. dba Kraken: Advised Kraken regarding engagements with state banking departments in connection with its acquisition of TradeStation Crypto.
- Nubank: Representing a Nubank in a commercial agreement with a peer-to-peer payments technology company.
- Blockchain Association: Represented Blockchain Association in an Amicus Brief in support of a defendant’s motion to dismiss in a U.S. lawsuit.
- Coinbase Global, Inc.: Represented Coinbase Global in responding to third-party subpoenas that request the production of user account records.
- ShapeShift AG: Represented ShapeShift AG in a long running SEC investigation.
- Mastercard International: Supported Mastercard on Crypto Source, which aims to expand the capabilities of traditional financial institutions in the crypto ecosystem.