Michael Selig
Partner, Asset Management
Michael Selig is a partner in the Asset Management Department and a member of the Willkie Digital Works practice. Michael concentrates his practice on the intersection of financial regulations and crypto technologies, including blockchains and crypto assets. He advises clients on a broad range of regulatory, enforcement, transactional and legislative matters involving securities, commodities and money services business law. This includes advising clients on the operation of rules and regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Michael counsels crypto network and protocol development companies, exchanges, asset managers, broker-dealers, banks, proprietary trading firms, stablecoin operators, non-fungible token marketplaces and consumer brands regarding financial regulatory issues. This includes advising on product design for crypto networks, protocols and instruments, offering and sale of fungible and non-fungible crypto assets and stablecoins, tokenization, formation of decentralized autonomous organizations, governance, custody arrangements, registration and licensing with federal and state financial regulators, regulatory compliance obligations and corporate matters.
Michael has also represented clients in enforcement matters before the SEC and CFTC involving regulatory compliance violations, including for failure to register offers and sales of crypto assets and violations of exchange and broker-dealer registration requirements.
Michael’s transactional practice involves drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements, financial transaction documentation and trading agreements. His deep knowledge of the crypto and web3 industry enables him to advise clients at all stages of development on structuring, negotiating and implementing strategic transactions to maximize value for the client and minimize regulatory burdens.
Michael is a frequent speaker on crypto regulatory matters, including on popular podcasts such as Bankless, Unchained and the Law of Code, and at events organized by CoinDesk, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Futures Industry Association and NFT.NYC. Michael is also a regular contributor to CoinDesk.
Experience
Michael was previously counsel at Perkins Coie LLP and formerly served as a law clerk in the office of CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo.
Selected Publications
- CFTC Alleges Manipulative Trading on a Decentralized Digital Asset Platform, Futures and Derivatives Law Report (June 2023)
- Binance and Coinbase: Experts Weigh What's Coming Next, CoinDesk (June 9, 2023) (contributor)
- CFTC Brings First-of-its-Kind Lawsuit Against a Decentralized Autonomous Organization, Futures and Derivatives Law Report (April 2023)
- What if Regulators Wrote Rules for Crypto?, Coindesk (Jan. 23, 2023)
- 2023: The Year of Regulation vs. Decentralization, Coindesk (Dec. 23, 2022)
-
How the Characteristics of Digital Assets Affect Compliance With the Custody Rule, Investment Adviser Association Newsletter (August 2020) (co-author)
Selected Speaking Engagements
- Bankless, “How Ripple’s Win Reshapes Crypto with Paul Grewal and Mike Selig” – Podcast Guest (July 14, 2023)
- CoinDesk TV, “First Mover” – TV Guest (July 14, 2023)
- CalCPA Entertainment Industry Conference, "Fallout of FTX" - Speaker (June 23, 2023)
- CoinDesk, “First Mover” – TV Guest (June 13, 2023)
- Stanford University School of Engineering, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies Class – Lecturer (May 25, 2023)
- NFT.NYC, “The SEC and NFTs” – Speaker (April 13, 2023)
- CoinFund, “CoinFund Regulatory Roundup” – Speaker (April 13, 2023)
- Law of Code, “Liquid Staking Tokens as Non-Securities” – Podcast Guest (April 10, 2023)
- Consensus by CoinDesk, “The Quest for a Global Regulatory Framework” – Speaker (April 28, 2023)
- Public Key, “Crypto in the Crosshairs: Are Digital Assets Securities or Commodities?” – Podcast Guest (March 21, 2023)
- Unchained, “Is Gary Gensler on a Mission to Put Crypto Down for Good?” – Podcast Guest (Feb. 17, 2023)
- Law of Code, “Regulators and Crypto with Michael Selig” – Podcast Guest (Feb. 16, 2023)
- Bankless, “SEC Declares War on Crypto” – Podcast Guest (Feb. 14, 2023)
- CoinDesk, “After FTX, Reckoning with Regulation” – Panelist (Jan. 25, 2023)
- Bankless, “What’s the Point of Securities Laws? with Mike Selig” – Podcast Guest (Jan. 4, 2023)
- CoinDesk, “2023 Crypto Regulatory Predictions” – TV Guest (Dec. 29, 2022)
- Futures Industry Association, FIA Webinar Series, “The Future of US Crypto Legislation” – Panelist (July 2022)
- Crypto Connection 2022, “Legislative Developments in Crypto” – Panelist (June 2022)
- Entertainment Industry Conference, “NFTs and Crypto Regulations Update” – Panelist (June 2022)
- Futures Industry Association, FIA Webinar Series, “Isn’t it Just Software?” – Panelist (October 2021)
- Futures Industry Association, FIA Webinar Series, “Virtual Currency Transactions – Retail and Otherwise” – Panelist (October 2020)
- Government Blockchain Association, Webinar, “Legal Impacts of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations” – Panelist (August 2020)
- Futures Industry Association, FIA Webinar Series, “The Next Progression of Derivatives Markets – Distributed Ledger Technologies and Decentralized Exchanges” – Panelist (June 2019)
- NFT.NYC 2019, “NFT Regulation” – Panelist (February 2019)
Credentials
Education
George Washington University Law School, J.D. Florida State University, B.S.