Digital Assets & Web3

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Whether you are a crypto start-up obtaining a crypto AML licence, a VC firm investing in metaverse businesses or a financial institution offering digital assets to your clients, our Digital Assets team offers tailor-made advice to your needs. Through deep legal expertise, a true interest in the industry beyond just legal issues and active participation in the wider eco-system, we are perfectly placed to support you in the ideation and implementation of your project or transaction and help you ensure it will be a success.

We advise on digitalisation and related issues across the finance and other industry sectors, including numerous FCA applications, international initial coin offerings (ICOs) and security token offerings (STOs). We support our clients, including investment funds, family offices, CSPs and other services providers and participants in the blockchain ecosystem on M&A transactions involving entities in the digital assets sector, as well as on regulatory, data protection and licensing matters. They turn to us for advice on the creation and commercialization of cryptocurrency, security tokens, NFTs and other digital asset platforms along with the intellectual property rights that underpin these assets. We support clients throughout the lifecycle of their investment, product or service, help crossing regulatory hurdles, and support on complex disputes involving regulators and business partners. 

Our client’s work with us because

  • Embedded in the community – we are truly interested in everything crypto, blockchain and metaverse. We enjoy cooperating with industry bodies and academics, have our voice heard in government thinking groups and tasks forces, attend and organise events and regularly publish legal briefings, research reports and opinion pieces. Simply put, we offer more than just legal support. Our team even includes a dedicated crypto consultant, who is a leading voice in UK crypto, a best-selling author on crypto and expert in crypto business models.
  • Specialists – we have a team of legal specialists, which include those hired out of in-house roles at crypto firms and regulators, all with an in-depth understanding of the needs of crypto businesses. Our team of lawyers specialise in crypto and digitalisation aspects of IP disputes, insolvency, tax, regulation, banking, investments and acquisitions and commercial technology, privacy and other data-related matters. 
  • Global advisers on digital assets – we have one of the largest dedicated crypto and digital assets practices in the UK and Europe, but our reach is not limited to that. We also have a particularly strong cypto and digital assets offering in the financial hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong which play a key part in this fast-growing industry. 
  • Advice that has been tested – we can apply the law to the market because we have worked with digital assets since the early days of their inception. We combine the broad knowledge and experience of financial regulation and other areas with specific expertise in crypto/digital assets, NFTs, DeFi, e-money and payments, AML, FinTech, Funds, insurance, sanctions and financial crime and with knowledge of the cloud, networks and other technologies underpinning the digital asset market infrastructure. We have a loyal client following of financial institutions, crypto exchanges and custodians, metaverse platforms, defi protocols, investment funds and NFT marketplaces.

Our clients include

Digital Assets and Web3 clients

Embedded in the industry

We are involved with, members of or partner with:

Team members

Portrait ofTom Marshall
Tom Marshall
Senior Associate
London
Portrait ofYasmin Johal
Yasmin Johal
Associate
London
Portrait ofKushal Gandhi
Kushal Gandhi
Partner
London
Portrait ofIan Stevens
Ian Stevens
Partner
London
Portrait ofGemma Hall
Gemma Hall
Senior Associate
London
Portrait ofSam Robinson
Sam Robinson
Partner
London
Portrait ofStephen Hignett
Stephen Hignett
Partner
London
Portrait ofVanessa Whitman
Vanessa Whitman
Partner
London
Portrait ofJohn Finnemore
John Finnemore
Partner
London
Portrait ofCharles Kerrigan
Charles Kerrigan
Partner
London
Portrait ofJoel Vertes
Joel Vertes
Partner
London
Portrait ofReeve Boyd
Reeve Boyd
Associate
Bristol
Portrait ofChristopher Luck
Christopher Luck
Partner
London
Portrait ofMatthew Nyman
Matthew Nyman
Of Counsel
London
Portrait ofEmma Clark
Emma Clark
Partner
London
Portrait ofJosie Welland
Josie Welland
Senior Associate
London
Portrait ofAndre Anthony
Andre Anthony
Senior Associate
London
Portrait ofElliot Cowan
Elliot Cowan
Partner
London
Portrait ofJack Rigelsford
Jack Rigelsford
Associate
London
Portrait ofLouis Glass
Louis Glass
Partner
Portrait ofFiona Henderson
Fiona Henderson
Partner
Aberdeen
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30/10/2022
Digital Assets and Web3 Hub
At CMS we are truly interested in everything crypto, blockchain and metaverse. We enjoy cooperating with industry bodies and academics, have our voice heard in government thinking groups and tasks forces, attend and organise events and regularly publish legal briefings, research reports and opinion pieces.   This page contains some of our most recent publications. If any of the articles have your particular interest, feel free to reach out to its authors for a deeper conversation.
07/12/2023
COP28: how the law can unite, act and deliver the UN SDGs
The law, and the work of lawyers, should enable countries, communities and companies to deliver the changes needed to achieve the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement. As COP28 urges us to unite, act and deliver, Advocates for International Development (A

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01/03/2024
Digital Assets
Does your business have or is it ready for digitalisation and digital assets? Digital assets are transforming the world of business. Not just technologies in the news, like AI and crypto currencies, but a whole world of technological advances, from digital twins and extended reality to smart contracts and token­isa­tion. For tech businesses and those already using such technology to develop and market new products, much of this is core activity and relatively well understood – although legal and regulatory uncertainties remain, and potential pitfalls still exist for the unwary. But other business leaders, often less familiar with the territory, have to manage an increasingly complex assortment of issues that never troubled their predecessors, ranging from protecting their brand in the metaverse to deciding whether they should tokenise their shares or accept payments in crypto currencies. This section of Bandwidth looks at issues around the development and regulation of a wide variety of digital assets, and discusses how businesses can embrace them to innovate and evolve.
14/08/2023
Intelligent Tech
The digital revolution is here, and Intelligent Tech is leading the way! Brought to you by experts in the Finance team specialising in digital assets and deep tech, this series explores important and topical themes in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Join us for insightful conversations with a range of guests, each sharing their expertise in specific areas. In this series, we’ll cover a range of topics such as deepfakes, records management and the regulatory considerations of AI. Stay tuned as we dive into these areas!
25/07/2023
CMS advises Laser Digital on Webn Group investment
International law firm CMS has advised digital asset business Laser Digital on its investment in Webn Group, an incubation hub for fintech and Web3 innovators backed by Alan Howard. Laser Digital is Nomura’s...
28/04/2023
Digital Assets: Non-Fungible Tokens
CMS has collaborated with UK Finance to deliver a report on NFTs and the broader digital assets ecosystem. From how digital assets actually work to how they are regulated and how they can be used by financial...
30/10/2022
Digital Assets and Web3 Hub
At CMS we are truly interested in everything crypto, blockchain and metaverse. We enjoy cooperating with industry bodies and academics, have our voice heard in government thinking groups and tasks forces, attend and organise events and regularly publish legal briefings, research reports and opinion pieces.   This page contains some of our most recent publications. If any of the articles have your particular interest, feel free to reach out to its authors for a deeper conversation.