The legal landscape for cryptocurrency and other digital assets is complex and evolving rapidly. Depending on the asset and the activity involved, businesses and individuals in this area may be subject to oversight by multiple federal and state authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, FinCEN, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and state regulators, as well as prosecution by the Department of Justice. Missteps can lead to criminal charges or civil and administrative enforcement actions.
Ford O’Brien Landy draws on its experience in white-collar defense, regulatory investigations, and sanctions to represent clients across the digital asset industry. Our work has included advising clients on whether a digital asset may be treated as a security subject to SEC registration requirements, representing early supporters of a cryptocurrency project in litigation to recover tokens owed to them, serving as outside general counsel to a Bitcoin mining company, and representing a subject of a federal grand jury investigation involving the leasing of cryptocurrency mining equipment.
We represent clients facing government investigations, criminal prosecutions, and civil or administrative enforcement actions, and we help trading platforms and other digital asset businesses understand and meet their compliance obligations, including securities registration analysis and anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs.
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Digital assets are subject to a range of federal and state laws, and which ones apply depends on the nature of the asset and the activity involved. Depending on the circumstances, securities, commodities, anti-money laundering, sanctions, tax, and state licensing rules may all come into play, and multiple agencies may share oversight of the same conduct. This area of law is evolving rapidly through new legislation, agency guidance, and court decisions, and the rules that apply today may change. Ford O’Brien Landy monitors these developments closely and helps clients understand how the current framework applies to their specific circumstances.
Government investigations involving digital assets can arise from a wide range of conduct, including alleged fraud on investors, unregistered securities offerings, market manipulation, money laundering, unlicensed money transmission, sanctions violations, and tax offenses. Investigations may also follow hacks, exploits, or the collapse of a platform or project, when regulators and prosecutors examine whether insiders bear responsibility for customer losses. These matters often proceed on parallel civil and criminal tracks. The Firm draws on its experience in white-collar defense, regulatory investigations, and sanctions to represent clients across the full range of digital asset matters.
Contact experienced counsel before responding. Counsel can assess the scope and purpose of the inquiry, identify whether it may signal broader regulatory or criminal exposure, and manage all communications with the government. Preserving relevant information is especially important in this industry, where records may include on-chain transaction data, wallet information, and messages on platforms like Telegram or Signal, some of which may be set to disappear automatically. Officers and employees should also understand that their interests may differ from the company’s. Ford O’Brien Landy helps digital asset companies and the individuals associated with them respond strategically from the outset, protecting their interests while positioning them for the best possible outcome.
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