Japanese Legal Issues Concerning Cryptocurrency Funds (June 2018)

Kei Ito is one of the leading partners of the Firm’s investment fund/asset management practice group. Mr. Ito has significant experience in various investment funds (ranging from traditional mutual funds to ETFs and to alternative investments such as private equity funds, and to climate funds and funds with a sustainable investment objective), providing asset management firms and other clients with regulatory advice, securities transactions, banking, derivatives, FinTech, structured finance transactions and a wide variety of other finance areas. Mr. Ito is very well versed in international finance transactions, catering to both domestic and international clients on various cross-border matters. Mr. Ito is also responsible for the Firm’s China practice.

Yusuke has a wealth of experience in the areas of capital raising by corporations, the formation of investment funds, and investments in investment funds, in transactions of all sizes, both domestically and internationally. In the field of capital raising, he has an extensive and excellent track record in the issuance of shares by financially distressed listed companies. In regard to fund formation and fund investment, he is constantly involved in numerous transactions, and advises not only on the legal aspects of those transactions, but also on market standards. He also provides advice on a wide range of financial regulations, including those in new fields such as fintech. His advice includes providing guidance on registering or filing notifications required for conducting finance-related business, analyzing new finance-related businesses, and establishing/reviewing the internal compliance rules/systems of his clients. Recently, he has become more involved in blockchain- and token-related matters, including not only those in the finance sector, such as fundraising by issuing crypto assets, listing crypto assets on domestic and foreign exchanges, and other crypto asset-related transactions, but also those in areas outside the finance sector.