Award winning crypto lawyers
The preferred legal firm for crypto projects in Australia
Square peg, round hole? That’s our specialty
All law firms are the same, aren’t they? Not us.
We’re a specialist crypto law firm that is helping crypto projects achieve their objectives in record time. And we’re helping many achieve the unthinkable.
If you have a problem, we have probably already encountered it for other clients and can help you.
Trusted by leading crypto businesses
Structuring
It all starts with getting your structure right. The wrong structure could be fatal. We provide structuring advice and prepare the legal documents you need to incorporate and launch your project.
Advice on local and offshore structuring options
Learn moreAdvice on governance models
Learn moreDAO incorporations and advice
Learn moreLegal & Regulation
Crypto businesses are subject to over 50 different laws and regulations. Failing to comply can result in significant penalties, which can include being shut down.
We help you comply with your legal and regulatory obligations – both initially and on an ongoing basis.
Tokens
Tokens are subject to increased regulatory scrutiny. Significant penalties apply when tokens are issued or traded without the appropriate licensing or disclosure arrangements.
We help token issuers list or issue their tokens in Australia in a legally compliant manner.
Audits
Prevention is better than cure. We audit your risk and compliance framework to detect deficiencies, breaches and other issues before they become problematic.
Investigations
Received a notice from a regulator? We help projects that are being investigated or audited by ASIC, APRA, AUSTRAC or the ATO
Establishment Services
Need help with the whole project? We provide resident director and company secretary services. We can also help you open bank accounts and establish relationships required to access local payment and banking rails.
Founder
Founder, Senior Lawyer
Peter Hagias
Peter is widely recognised as a leading cryptocurrency and regulatory lawyer.
He advises clients across the crypto industry, including centralised and de-centralised exchanges, token issuers and De-Fi projects. Assisting clients to navigate the Australian regulatory regime, Peter helps them develop practical solutions to meet their legal and regulatory obligations.
Peter leads a team of 5 senior lawyers at Crypto Legal who are equally passionate about the Web 3.0 ecosystem and opportunities it presents.
Founder, Senior Lawyer
Peter Hagias
Peter is widely recognised as a leading cryptocurrency and regulatory lawyer.
He advises clients across the crypto industry, including centralised and de-centralised exchanges, token issuers and De-Fi projects. Assisting clients to navigate the Australian regulatory regime, Peter helps them develop practical solutions to meet their legal and regulatory obligations.
Peter leads a team of 5 senior lawyers at Crypto Legal who are equally passionate about the Web 3.0 ecosystem and opportunities it presents.
We offer director and company secretary services to international companies who are looking for resident directors in order to incorporate their projects in Australia. We also offer these services to local projects who are seeking to add legal and regulatory expertise to their board mix.
De-banking has been a significant issue with crypto projects, and still occurs today despite While it is difficult to obtain a bank account, we have been successful in obtaining bank accounts through our network of banking partners.
ASIC, AUSTRAC and the ATO are the primary crypto regulators.
ASIC is Australia’s corporate, markets, financial services and consumer credit regulator. It has the function of monitoring and promoting market integrity and consumer protection in relation to Australia’s financial system.
ATO is the Australian government’s principal revenue collection agency. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system. AUSTRAC is an Australian government financial intelligence agency responsible for monitoring financial transactions to identify money laundering, organised crime, tax evasion, fraud and terrorism financing.
Simple – it is better for a crypto business to identify and address issues before the regulator does.
Risk audits vary in scope, but they all have the same goal of making the business more robust from a compliance perspective, which is often achieved through identifying process flaws and risks which are not managed appropriately.
A white paper is commonly used by token issuers to describe key aspects of their token. While a white paper is not currently a regulated document, it is still subject to various consumer protections under Australian laws (i.e. misleading and deceptive conduct).
Token reviews are undertaken to determine whether a token issuer is required to hold a licence or comply with any other regulatory obligations in order to issue their token in Australia. Token reviews determine whether the token is a financial product, or is otherwise prohibited from being distributed in Australia. As the structure of tokens may change over time, token reviews may be undertaken on an ongoing basis.
It depends on the entity you receive services from, and whether they are a member of AFCA. If they are members, then you will be entitled to access their dispute resolution scheme. If they are not, then traditional dispute and complaint pathways will need to be pursued.
You cannot purchase an AFSL as a standalone asset. However, you can purchase an entity that holds an AFSL. We suggest undertaking appropriate due diligence on the entity that will be purchased to ensure you are adequately mitigating the risks associated with purchasing shares.
The standard time frame is 6 months from the date the AFSL application is lodged with ASIC. However, complex business models involving crypto usually take between 6-12 months to complete. We have a track record of obtaining AFSLs for various crypto businesses, including obtaining the first AFSL for an Australian crypto exchange.
A business is required to register with AUSTRAC as a Digital Currency Exchange (DCE) before it can provide DCE specific designated services. The registration process includes an online application, completing an AUSTRAC questionnaire and providing AUSTRAC with evidence of your AML/CTF Program and arrangements. The process usually takes between 6-8 weeks.
Yes, if they hold the appropriate licenses and registrations (if any) required to operate in Australia. We are regularly asked to advise on the licenses and registrations required to offer tokens or other services to Australian residents.
DAOs are not recognised in Australia as legal entities, which means they do not have a separate legal identity. This is problematic because it makes it difficult for DAOs to operate in the real world (i.e. entering into contracts with others, opening bank accounts). However, other legal structures are used as an alternative to ensure projects have a legal identity, but continue to operate under a DAO governance model.
1. Get in touch. Book a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers through our website, or send us an email at info@cryptolegal.com.au.
2. Free consultation. Have a free consultation with one of our senior lawyers. The purpose of the meeting is to better understand your business and the type of help you require.
3. Eligibility. We will then determine whether you are eligible to become our client. If you are, we will send you a fee proposal.
4. Fee Proposal. The fee proposal will set out the costs, timeline and scope of work we propose to provide to you.
5. Engagement. If the proposal is accepted, our engagement is finalised and we will commence our services.
We believe you should be in control of how you pay for legal services. You will usually have the option of engaging us under either a fixed fee or hourly rate model.
