Digital Assets and Blockchain

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is changing the way companies, investors, and financial services companies do business.

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Whether it’s bringing transparency to a supply chain, reducing risk in financial transactions or creating better, cheaper, faster and more efficient processes, blockchain holds transformative potential for markets across a wide range of sectors. The rapid growth and adoption among businesses, individuals and governments has resulted in a complex domestic and international regulatory landscape.

We have one of the most experienced cross-sector Digital Asset and Blockchain practices of any law firm, with deep experience advising on complex, first-in-kind matters. We are at the forefront of change, and our lawyers play a leading role in the development of the emerging regulatory frameworks for digital assets.

Our Digital Assets and Blockchain team are at the heart of the industry. Whether that is through advising policymakers and regulators across the world as they look to implement new regulatory regimes, counselling digitally native firms as well as established financial institutions on emerging landscapes and strategy, or partnering with industry associations to help amplify their voice, we are there looking to move the needle on the discussion.

Our market leading lawyers and consultants, leverage a wealth of experience and know-how to provide our clients with the best possible service support the development of innovation solutions in the digital assets space. Spanning across all our offices, our team gives truly global representation.

Digital custody solutions

DLT-based payment solutions (incl. tokenized deposits, programmable money, wholesale settlement)

Digital financial market infrastructure

Banking consortiums leveraging digital networks

Blockchain and digital asset-related disputes

Decentralized Finance

Tokenization

Our team are market leaders in advising on native digital bond issuances, including landmark transactions governed by English law and executed directly on public blockchains. We have supported tokenized debt instruments backed by traditional assets like US Treasury Bills, enabling dematerialized, freely transferable securities without central depositories. Our cross-practice team combines deep capital markets experience with blockchain fluency, helping clients navigate regulatory frameworks and structure innovative digital securities solutions.

Our team provide strategic legal guidance on digital custody, helping institutions safeguard digital assets through robust, compliant solutions. From private key management, digital operational resilience, to insolvency issues, our team can help to demystify custody models, unpack legal and regulatory considerations, and to mitigate risks.

Our team advise on the full spectrum of DLT-based payment innovations, including tokenized deposits, programmable money, and wholesale settlement systems. We help clients come up with their strategy and support them in designing interoperable, compliant payment rails that integrate with tokenized assets and central bank digital currencies. With deep regulatory insight and technical fluency, we help financial institutions unlock efficiencies, reduce counterparty risk, and future-proof their payment infrastructure.

Our team is at the forefront of advising on digital financial market infrastructures (FMIs), helping clients reimagine trading, clearing, and settlement using DLT. Our work includes shaping regulatory sandboxes, developing tokenized securities platforms, and advising on interoperability and resilience. With global reach and policy engagement, we guide institutions through the digital transformation of capital markets.

Our team support banking consortiums in launching and scaling digital networks, including multicurrency DLT-based payment systems. Our team advises on governance, member documentation, regulatory strategy, and operational design, enabling collaborative innovation across jurisdictions. With experience in consortium formation and digital infrastructure deployment, we help banks harness blockchain to drive efficiency and interoperability.

Our team have extensive experience resolving disputes involving blockchain and digital assets, including smart contract failures, cryptoasset recovery, and regulatory enforcement. Our litigation and arbitration teams combine deep technical understanding with global legal expertise, representing clients in high-stakes matters across jurisdictions. We offer strategic counsel on risk mitigation, crisis response, and precedent-setting cases in the digital asset space.

Regulatory treatment of DeFi is notoriously unclear and untested. We have experience advising DeFi protocols, DAOs, Layer 2 protocols, and a variety other clients operating in the DeFi and Web3 space on the application of financial services regulation across a range of jurisdictions. We are able to support clients due to our deep understanding of the world of DeFi.

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) and tokenization are modernizing traditional financial infrastructure and have the potential to deliver greater capital efficiency and transparency across financial systems. Tokenization is the process of converting ownership rights in real world assets into digital tokens recorded on a distributed ledger such as DLT.

Key features include fractional ownership which enables smaller investment sizes; smart contracts to automate payments, processes and compliance checks; transparency ensuring accurate ownership records and transaction history; and liquidity, facilitating trading of traditional illiquid assets.

We have decades of experience advising banks, asset managers, insurance companies, and the public sector in their capital markets activities worldwide. As our clients move towards the issuance of digital assets, including digital bonds and other forms of tokenized debt, we have been supporting them in the gap between the application of the law in the traditional finance space and the digital space.

Hear from our clients and industry leaders

Hogan Lovells are very keen in going above and beyond for us. They have great expertise in this space and they are always very responsive. They are collaborative and have a bespoke approach."

Chambers UK: FinTech Blockchain and Cryptocurrency 2025

We use Hogan Lovells for a lot for our payments work and they are very good. They are very reliable and have good industry expertise and are very good on the regulatory front."

Chambers UK: FinTech Blockchain and Cryptocurrency 2025

We engaged Hogan Lovells for their proficiency in this complex and evolving area. The team effectively managed the cross-border aspects by leveraging their colleagues in different jurisdictions."

Chambers UK: FinTech Blockchain and Cryptocurrency 2025

Key contacts

John Salmon

Partner

John Salmon

Partner

London

Sharon Lewis

Partner

Sharon Lewis

Partner

Paris, London

Meet the Digital Assets and Blockchain team

Representative experience

Case Study: Fnality Consortium – Sterling DLT-Based Payment System

The challenge

Members of the Fnality consortium required legal support to enter into the contractual framework for participation in Fnality’s sterling distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based payment system. The process involved navigating complex multi-party negotiations, with varying levels of engagement from participating banks. A coordinated and efficient approach was needed to manage issue identification, feedback loops, and negotiation strategy — all while maintaining alignment across a diverse group of stakeholders.

Our solution

We advised consortium members on their contractual entry into the Fnality payment system, helping to shape a collaborative and structured engagement model. Our team developed a tailored process to manage:

Identification and sharing of key legal and commercial issues.
Input from bank participants into those issues and the negotiation process.
A tiered engagement structure, establishing a smaller core team to lead discussions and circulate updates to the wider group for comment.

This approach ensured clarity, efficiency, and inclusivity, enabling consortium members to participate effectively in the development of a cutting-edge DLT-based payment infrastructure.

Case Study: PV01 – Issuance of a Native Digital Bond

The challenge

PV01, a pioneering provider of tokenisation services, aimed to issue a native digital bond that would bridge blockchain technology with traditional financial markets. The bond was to be governed by English law, denominated in USDC, and issued directly on the Ethereum public blockchain. The structure required full backing by U.S. Treasury Bills, held under a security deed governed by English law. The bond also needed to be freely transferable between eligible investors without relying on a central securities depository — a novel approach with significant legal and regulatory complexity.

Our solution

Partners Sharon Lewis and Bryony Widdup led our advisory team in supporting PV01 through the successful issuance of its native digital bond. We provided strategic legal guidance on:

Structuring the bond under English law and denominating it in USDC.
Ensuring the bond was fully backed by U.S. Treasury Bills, with proceeds managed under a security deed involving Ankura Trust Company, LLC as Security Agent.
Designing the bond to be issued on-chain in dematerialized form, with bearer-like features enabling transferability between investors, subject to pre-programmed eligibility criteria.

This landmark transaction represents a significant step forward for digital capital markets in the UK and showcases our leadership in applying blockchain technology within regulated financial frameworks.

Case Study: Securities Commission of The Bahamas – Digital Asset Regulatory Reform

The challenge

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) sought to modernise its digital asset regulatory framework to align with evolving international standards and support innovation in the sector. This required a comprehensive review of the existing DARE Act 2020, identification of legislative gaps, and the development of a new bill that would expand regulatory coverage, enhance consumer protection, and introduce clearer rules for emerging digital asset activities — including custody, staking, and stablecoins.

Our solution

We advised the SCB on the development of the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Bill 2023, benchmarking against global best practices and drafting legislation that significantly broadened the regulatory perimeter. Key enhancements included:

• Clearer requirements for custody and wallet services.
• A dedicated disclosure regime for staking services.
• A comprehensive framework for stablecoin issuers, including redemption obligations.

Following public consultation, we supported its successful enactment as the DARE Act 2024. Our work has helped position The Bahamas as a forward-looking jurisdiction for digital asset regulation.

Awards and recognitions

FinTech Firm of the Year

Chambers UK Awards

2025

Band 1: FinTech Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Chambers UK

2026

Tier 1 – FinTech Regulatory

Legal 500 UK

2026

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