Case studies

Selected engagements — real timelines, real outcomes.

Anonymised case studies from the firm’s licensing practice. Each shows a client situation, the engagement approach, and the measurable outcome.

UAE (VARA)

VARA Category 2 — institutional crypto exchange in 11 months

Pre-application gap analysis caught two governance issues at the assessment stage. Authorisation came through in 11 months — fast for the regime.

Outcomes

  • Authorised in 11 months
  • AED + USD banking secured pre-licence
  • Travel Rule provider integrated at go-live
★★★★★

Layla’s team made the difference between a ‟maybe’ and a ‟yes’ from VARA. The pre-application gap analysis they ran caught two governance issues that would have stopped us cold at the assessment stage. Our VARA Category 2 licence was approved in 11 months — fast for this regime.

Yusuf Al-Sayed · CEO, Falcon Digital Markets Crypto Exchange · Dubai
United States

Multi-state US licensing — 24-month phased roadmap, live in 5 states inside year one

FinCEN MSB plus a phased state-MTL rollout. Roadmap prioritised states by transaction volume and regulator turnaround.

Outcomes

  • FinCEN MSB issued in weeks
  • MTL live in 5 states inside year one
  • Cybersecurity programme passed first WDB review
★★★★★

FinCEN MSB plus a phased state MTL rollout — Daniel’s team built us a 24-month roadmap that prioritised the states by transaction volume and regulator turnaround. We launched live in five states inside the first year. Phenomenal project management.

Jordan Reeves · CEO, Liberty Crypto Inc. Crypto Exchange · Delaware / Wyoming
British Virgin Islands

BVI VASP + token launch — USD 40M raised on the back of clean structure

Foundation, SPV and treasury vehicle coordinated with tax advisors in three jurisdictions. Defensible structure that survived diligence.

Outcomes

  • BVI VASP issued in 8 weeks
  • USD 40M raised
  • Multi-jurisdiction tax structure cleared
★★★★★

We needed a BVI structure for our token launch — a foundation, an SPV, a treasury vehicle, the whole stack. They coordinated with our tax advisors in three other jurisdictions and delivered a clean, defensible structure. USD 40M raised on the back of it.

Mei-Lin Chen · CEO, Quantum Protocol Foundation DeFi / Token Issuer · Road Town
United Kingdom

FCA cryptoasset registration — first-time approval against a 15% historical approval rate

Annex II self-assessment rebuilt from scratch. Financial-promotions regime and s21 approver arrangement implemented before deadlines.

Outcomes

  • First-time FCA approval
  • Financial-promotions compliant pre-deadline
  • MLRO retained as embedded team member
★★★★★

FCA cryptoasset registration has a very high bar — Daniel and his team are the reason we cleared it. Our Annex II self-assessment was rebuilt from scratch under their supervision. The financial-promotions regime work was equally rigorous.

Charlotte Pemberton · Founder, Albion Digital Assets Ltd Crypto Exchange · London
Switzerland

FINMA SRO route through VQF — saved client six figures and 18 months

Honest steer from FINMA fintech licence to VQF SRO route. Client live in three months under SRO instead of nine under fintech.

Outcomes

  • VQF SRO membership in 3 months
  • AML programme cleared annual external audit
  • 6-figure cost saving over fintech route
★★★★★

Ingrid’s FINMA background was decisive for us. Our SRO membership through VQF came through in three months and the AML programme she designed has held up under our annual external audit.

Florian Schmidt · Founder, Zurich Digital Assets AG Crypto Asset Manager · Zurich

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