Debevoise & Plimpton

Debevoise is built on one of the firmest institutional finance foundations in BigLaw — representing banks, asset managers, and insurance companies across the most complex financial regulatory matters. This means its crypto practice genuinely understands the internal compliance frameworks, regulatory relationships, and risk tolerance of large financial institutions entering digital assets, rather than approaching the sector from a pure crypto-native perspective.

Debevoise serves banks and financial institutions, asset managers entering digital assets, crypto funds, insurance companies with digital asset exposure, and institutional crypto product teams. The firm is less focused on token issuers or DeFi protocols and more oriented toward the established financial services sector's engagement with blockchain and digital assets.

Nicholas Kathmann and Satish Kini lead the firm's fintech and cryptocurrency practice. Debevoise is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Washington DC, Frankfurt, and Moscow — with the New York and Washington DC offices being most relevant for US digital asset regulatory work.

Debevoise's practice is principally oriented toward TradFi institutions and large established businesses. Crypto-native startups seeking standard token structuring or DeFi legal advice would typically be better served by practices with deeper crypto-native experience such as Perkins Coie or Latham & Watkins. Debevoise's value is most evident when the client already has a regulated financial services background.

The firm's digital assets services include institutional digital asset product structuring, crypto fund formation, financial regulatory compliance, fintech M&A, and banking crypto entry strategy. A particular strength is helping traditional asset managers and banks structure compliant digital asset investment products — navigating both securities law and digital asset-specific regulatory requirements simultaneously.

Debevoise charges premium BigLaw rates consistent with its positioning as one of New York's elite firms. Specific billing rates are not published, but engagements with institutional-grade complexity typically run into the six or seven figures. For institutional clients with ongoing digital asset programme needs, the firm can structure retainer or programmatic arrangements.