Spencer West LLP

Spencer West's digital assets practice covers token and SAFT issuance, DAO legal structuring, Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration and de-registration, offshore crypto fund formation (BVI and Cayman Islands), Securities Investment Business licensing for exchanges and derivatives businesses, and cross-border crypto transactions. The firm's deep coverage of offshore financial centres — BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, Bermuda — makes it particularly well-suited for the entity structuring work that underpins most token launches and crypto fund raises.

Dan Russell is Spencer West's digital assets specialist, practising BVI, Cayman Islands, and English law. Since 2016 he has practised BVI and Cayman Islands law at leading offshore firms including Ogier. His digital assets work spans token and SAFT issuance, DAO structuring, VASP registration and de-registration, and Securities Investment Business licensing for crypto businesses. Prior to law, Dan completed a two-year legal analyst programme at Goldman Sachs, covering debt and equity capital markets and derivatives — experience that informs his understanding of how traditional finance structures translate into crypto contexts.

Yes — BVI and Cayman Islands structuring is a core strength of Spencer West's practice. These offshore jurisdictions are the most commonly used domiciles for crypto token issuance, fund formation, and DAO legal wrappers, and Spencer West's specific expertise in both enables founders to structure these entities alongside broader international legal support from the same firm. VASP registration support in relevant jurisdictions is also within scope.

Yes — Spencer West regularly advises on the full lifecycle of open and closed-ended funds, including primary and secondary fund investments, M&A, financing, and private equity. For crypto fund managers who need both token issuance structuring (BVI/Cayman entities, SAFTs) and fund formation advice (LP structures, investment management agreements), Spencer West can provide both from a single firm relationship — a meaningful operational simplification.

Spencer West works with token issuers seeking offshore structures, crypto fund managers, DAO projects requiring legal wrappers, exchanges seeking VASP registration, Web3 startups requiring Cayman or BVI entities, and institutional investors in digital assets. The firm's international footprint spanning the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and Asia also makes it a natural fit for cross-border projects that need legal coordination across multiple regions simultaneously.

Contact Spencer West via spencer-west.com or directly through Dan Russell's team page at spencer-west.com/team/daniel-russell. As a firm with 360+ partners across 20+ jurisdictions, Spencer West has a structured engagement process — an initial scope call with Dan Russell's team is the standard starting point for digital assets mandates, after which the appropriate combination of English, BVI, and Cayman Islands practitioners is assembled based on the specific structuring needs.