Jenny Cieplak

Voyager Digital Ltd. (OTC Pink VYGVQ; FRA: UCD2) has announced that its operating company Voyager Digital LLC selected US exchange BAM Trading Services Inc. (Binance.US) as the highest and best bid for its assets after a review of strategic options with the core objective of maximizing the value returned to customers and other creditors on an expedited timeframe. Binance.US is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, and is incorporated in Delaware. It is an independent legal entity and has a licensing agreement with Binance.com. Latham & Watkins LLP is representing Binance.US in the transaction with an M&A team led by New York partners Robert Katz and Daniel Mun and New York counsel Robert McGuire, with associates Ransel Potter, Nancy Zhu, and Yulong Li. Advice was also provided on UK corporate matters by London partners Nick Cline and Stuart Davis, with associate Lauren Chapple; on restructuring matters by New York partner Adam Goldberg and Washington, D.C. partner Andrew Sorkin; with associates Nacif Taousse and Jonathan Weichselbaum; on fintech and financial regulations matters by New York partners Stephen Wink, Yvette Valdez, and Jenny Cieplak, London partner Andrew Moyle, and Washington, D.C. partners Barrie VanBrackle and Parag Patel, with associates Victor Razon, Luca Marquard, and Adam Fovent; on tax matters by New York partner Eric Kamerman, with associate Lukas Kutilek; on benefits & compensation matters by Boston partner Josh Friedman; on labor matters by Chicago partner Nineveh Alkhas, with associate Laura Waller; on intellectual property matters by Los Angeles partner Ghaith Mahmood, with associate Nathan Wages; on data privacy & security matters by Houston partner Robert Brown; on real estate matters by associate Karen Ritter; on environmental, land, and resources maters by Orange County partner Christopher Norton; on anti-bribery and trade controls matters by Washington, D.C. partner Daniel Dominguez and Washington, D.C. counsel Andrew Galdes, with associate Julie Shin; on antitrust matters by New York partner Katherine Rocco, with associate Doug Tifft; and on CFIUS matters by Washington, D.C. partner Les Carnegie, with associate Zachary Eddington.~~

Dec 19

1 min

Latham & Watkins has advised Goldman Sachs as a lead investor on the £77.7 million Series B funding round of Fnality, a fintech focused on building blockchain-based wholesale payment systems to support the adoption of tokenised assets and marketplaces. The round was led by Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas, with participation from DTCC, Euroclear, Nomura, and WisdomTree, as well as existing investors. The Latham team was led by Washington, D.C. partner Mitch Rabinowitz, New York partner Jenny Cieplak, and London partner Shing Lo, with New York associates Ian Irlander and Kathryn Sarkesian, and London associate Róisín Mbonu.~~

Dec 1

1 min

Latham & Watkins has earned top fintech rankings across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia in Chambers Fintech and The Legal 500. Latham was recognized for the firm’s robust capabilities across a range of areas, including blockchain and cryptocurrencies, crypto-asset disputes, and payments and lending. Chambers Fintech 2023 ranks Latham Band 1 in the US, the UK (London), and Germany – the only firm to rank Band 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. Notably, Chambers Fintech ranks Latham as a Band 1 firm in the US in the guide’s inaugural Crypto-Asset Disputes category. Latham is at the forefront of this evolving area, advising clients on their most significant crypto-asset enforcement and litigation matters, often first of their kind and precedent-setting. Chambers Fintech described the firm’s leadership in this area, saying Latham “has handled a significant number of regulatory investigations and white-collar matters, including SEC, CFTC and FinCEN investigations, and advises on OFAC sanctions compliance.” Clients also told Chambers, “The crypto space is fast-moving, and Latham is able to assemble experts from a number of practice areas when we need it and have the deep bench necessary to turn projects around quickly.” In addition to its Band 1 practice group ranking, Latham is the only firm to have two attorneys ranked Band 1 individually in this new category as well. Latham is also ranked in Band 1 for the US and UK (London) practice categories of Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies; Corporate, Securities & Financing; and Payments & Lending. Latham also ranks Band 2 in China among International Firms, and in the United Arab Emirates. Many Latham fintech partners rank individually in the guide, including Andrew Moyle, Global Chair of the Fintech Industry Group; Stephen Wink, Yvette Valdez, Stuart Davis, and Simon Hawkins, Global Co-Chairs of the Digital Assets & Web3 Practice; Barrie VanBrackle, Todd Beauchamp, Brian Meenagh, Markus Krüger, and Axel Schiemann; and Benjamin Naftalis and Douglas Yatter in the new Crypto-Asset Disputes category. The Legal 500 ranks Latham Tier 1 for fintech in the US and UK, also making Latham the only firm with a Tier 1 fintech ranking in the US and Europe. The Legal 500 recognizes many individual Latham partners, including Andrew Moyle (Leading Lawyer); Barrie VanBrackle (Leading Lawyer); Todd Beauchamp (Leading Lawyer); Stuart Davis (Next Generation Partner); Stephen Wink, Yvette Valdez; Simon Hawkins; Mitchell Rabinowitz; Jenny Cieplak, Fiona Maclean; Christian McDermott; Markus Krüger, and Axel Schiemann. The firm also ranked Tier 2 in Germany, and is listed as a “Firm to Watch” among foreign firms in China. Chambers Fintech described Latham as “one of the premier firms in FinTech, with significant strength in capital markets, FinTech M&A, financial services regulation, payments law and cryptocurrency matters.” The Legal 500 praised Latham for an “incredibly deep bench of financial regulatory expertise that positions it at the top of the market for fintech legal counsel.” “These top rankings reflect the exceptional skill, experience, and creativity of our global team and the innovative products that we help our fintech clients deliver to the marketplace every day,” said Andrew Moyle, Global Chair of Latham’s Fintech Industry Group. “Across jurisdictions and matters, our global fintech platform delivers seamless and consistently top-flight counsel to help clients navigate a fast-evolving landscape.”~~

Dec 2

2 min

Fold, Inc., a bitcoin financial services company, and FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: EMLD), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement providing for a proposed business combination that will result in Fold becoming a publicly listed company. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both FTAC Emerald and Fold, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. Latham & Watkins LLP represents Fold in the transaction with a corporate deal team led by Houston partner Ryan Maierson, with associates Daniel Harrist, Brian Bruzzo, Mary Kline, and Rafael Go. Advice was also provided on tax matters by Houston partners Tim Fenn and Jared Grimley, with associate Molly Elkins; on benefits matters by Century City/Bay Area partner Julie Crisp, with associate Joseph Benedetto; on regulatory matters by New York partner Arthur Long and New York counsel Pia Naib; on cryptocurrency matters by New York partner Jenny Cieplak; on intellectual property matters by New York partner Jeff Tochner and New York associate Sebastian Moss; on data privacy matters by Houston/Austin counsel Robert Brown; and on capital markets matters by Houston associate Paul Robe.~~

Jul 24

1 min