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Blockchain and Fintech Program

Program Leadership

Prof. Douglas Eakeley

Founder and Co-director, Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance

Photo of Professor Yuliya Guseva

Prof. Yuliya Guseva

Director of the Blockchain and Fintech Program

On this page:

About the Program

The Blockchain and Fintech Program is organized under the auspices of the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance. It is engaged in multidisciplinary blockchain and fintech research, as well as a curriculum- and project-based set of activities designed to advance faculty and student engagement in blockchain, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, fintech, and related subjects. It seeks to help prepare the next generation of lawyers, business leaders, politicians, entrepreneurs, and others to be able to develop and apply these technologies and business practices.

Fintech Updates

Annual Report of 2022 Highlights

Annual Report of 2023 Highlights

 
 

 

Research and Publications

  1. Yuliya Guseva, Sangita Gazi & Douglas Eakeley, “The Codependence of CBDCs and Stablecoins” 87 Law & Contemporary Problems ___ (forthcoming 2024).
  2. Yuliya Guseva, “Decentralized Markets and Decentralized Regulation,” 92 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. ___ (forthcoming 2024).
  3. Yuliya Guseva, “The Economic Reality of NFT Securities,” in Cambridge Handbook on Law and Policy on NFTs (Nizan Geslevich Packin ed., Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2024).
  4. Yuliya Guseva & Irena Hutton,”Regulatory Fragmentation: Investor Reaction to SEC and CFTC Enforcement in Crypto Markets,” 64 BC Law Rev. 1555 (2023) (selected as a winning paper at the DC Fintech Week 2022, competitively selected for presentation at the Annual Conference of the European Association of Law and Economics and the AALS Annual Meeting).
  5. Yuliya Guseva & Irena Hutton, Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog, How Investors React to SEC and CFTC Enforcement in Digital Asset Markets, November 17, 2023 .
  6. Carol Goforth & Yuliya Guseva, Regulation of Cryptoassets (2d ed. West Academic 2022)
  7. Yuliya Guseva & Irena Hutton, “Digital Asset Innovations and Regulatory Fragmentation: The SEC versus the CFTC,” B.C. Law Rev.­­ (forthcoming 2023)
  8. Yuliya Guseva, “When the Means Undermine the End: The Leviathan of Securities Law and Enforcement in Digital-Asset Markets,” The Stanford Journal of Blockchain Law & Policy (peer-reviewed, forthcoming 2022)
  9. Douglas Eakeley & Yuliya Guseva with Leo Choi & Katarina Gonzalez, “Crypto-Enforcement Around the World,” 94 Southern California Law Review Postscript 99 (2021)
  10. Yuliya Guseva, “The SEC, Digital Assets, and Game Theory,” 46 The Journal of Corporation Law 629 (2021)
  11. Yuliya Guseva, “A Conceptual Framework for Digital-Asset Securities: Tokens and Coins as Debt and Equity,” 80 Maryland Law Review 166 (2020)
  12. Douglas Eakeley & Yuliya Guseva with Leo Choi & Katarina Gonzalez, “The Comparative Crypto-Enforcement Report” (2021)

Programs and Events

The Rutgers Fintech and Blockchain Collaboratory

The Collaboratory is a series of bimonthly gatherings of leading lawyers, former regulators, and academics interested in regulatory and industry developments in fintech, defi, crypto, and blockchain-based businesses. The purpose of the Collaboratory is to create a forum for policy discussion and analysis.

Fintech Symposia

Rutgers annual symposia on fintech, crypto, and financial innovation feature distinguished keynote speakers and panelists from major regulatory agencies, the industry, and academia.

January 2024 Meeting of the Collaboratory:
  • Dirk Zetzsche, Professor in Financial Law ADA Chair in Financial Law (inclusive finance) at University of Luxembourg and Professor Douglas Arner, Kerry Holdings Professor in Law at The University of Hong Kong
February 2024 Meeting of the Collaboratory:
  • David McIlroy, Global Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame in England.
  • View the recording here.
March 2024 Meeting of the Collaboratory:

Fintech and Blockchain Symposium (May 3, 2024)

General Regulatory and Business Trends in Trading

  • Andrew Blake (moderator), Partner, Sidley Austin
  • Joel Hasbrouck, Kenneth G. Langone Professor of Business Administration, Stern School of Business, New York University
  • Kose John, Charles William Gerstenberg Professor of Banking and Finance, Stern School of Business, New York University
  • Rachel Barnett, Chief Legal Officer, IEX Exchange
  • Dan Burstein, Principal Regulatory Counsel, Paxos

Digital Asset Disclosures: How Do You Know What and When to Disclose?

  • Lilya Tessler (moderator), Partner, Sidley Austin
  • Lee A. Schneider, General Counsel, Ava Labs
  • Scott Bauguess, VP, Global Regulatory Policy, Coinbase
  • Chris Brummer, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Financial Technology, Georgetown Law; Founder & CEO, Bluprynt
  • J.W. Verrett, Associate Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
  • Greg Xethalis, Partner, General Counsel, Multicoin Capital Management LLC

Fireside Chat

  • Featured Speaker: The Honorable Kristin N. Johnson, Commissioner, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
  • Moderator: Yesha Yadav, Associate Dean and Robert Belton Director of Diversity, Equity & Community, Milton R. Underwood Chair, Faculty Co-Director, L.L.M. Program, Vanderbilt University Law School

Tokenization and Real Business Applications

  • Andrew Sioson (moderator), Partner, Sidley Austin
  • Sarah Aberg, General Counsel, Nova Labs
  • Wee Ming Choon, Deputy General Counsel, Ava Labs
  • Fahad Saleh, Associate Professor of Finance, University of Florida
  • Cathy Yoon, General Counsel, Wormhole Foundation

The Role of SROs in FinTech: It’s Not Just About the SEC and the CFTC

  • Lara Thyagarajan (moderator), Partner, Sidley
  • Dorothy D. DeWitt, Founder & CEO, Tölt Strategies
  • Yuliya Guseva, Professor of Law and Director of the Fintech and Blockchain Research Program, Rutgers Law School
  • Howell E. Jackson, James S. Reid, Jr., Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
  • Christine Podolak, Senior Director for Asset Surveillance, FINRA
  • Yesha Yadav, Associate Dean and Robert Belton Director of Diversity, Equity & Community, Vanderbilt Law School

Fireside Chat

  • Featured Speaker: The Honorable Caroline D. Pham, Commissioner, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
  • Moderator: Douglas Eakeley, Professor and Founder/Co-Director, Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance, Rutgers Law School
  • Moderator: Yuliya Guseva, Professor of Law and Director of the Fintech and Blockchain Research Program, Rutgers Law School
August 2023 Meeting of the Collaboratory:
  • Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy for Circle
September 2023 Meeting of the Collaboratory:
  • SEC v. Ripple: Are digital tokens securities?
October 2023 Meetings of the Collaboratory:
  • Alex Wenham, Global Head of Digital Asset Product and Strategy at Bloomberg
  • Björn Wahlström, CEO of Current Consulting Group
  • Neel Chopra, Head of Regulatory, Investigations and Litigation at Binance
November 2023 Meeting of the Collaboratory:
Regulating Crypto: Perspectives from Key Stakeholders (June 16, 2023):
Panel Discussion on Crypto Regulations
  • Christopher W. Gerold (Moderator), Partner, Securities Litigation Practice, Corporate Investigations & Integrity Practice, Lowenstein Crypto Practice, Lowenstein Sandler
  • Dorothy DeWitt, Chief Finance Counsel, United States Senate
  • Yuliya Guseva, Vice Dean and Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
  • James Park, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law

Fireside Chat with Securities and Exchange Commission Director of the Division of Enforcement Gurbir S. Grewal moderated by:

  • Douglas S. Eakeley, Alan V. Lowenstein Professor of Corporate & Business Law and Distinguished Professor of Professional Practice, Rutgers Law School
  • Yuliya Guseva, Vice Dean and Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School

Fireside Chat with Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad moderated by:

  • Ethan L. Silver – Partner, Investment Management Practice; Chair of FinTech Practice; Chair of Broker-Dealer Practice; Co-chair of Lowenstein Crypto Practice, Lowenstein Sandler
June 2023 Meeting of the Collaboratory:
  • Jon Fink Isaksen, Head of Policy, EMEA at Uniswap Labs
April 2023 Meeting of the Collaboratory:
  • Martin Hanzl, Head of New Technologies at Ernst & Young Law Austria, Attorney-at-Law, and Co-Reporter of the Project Blockchain & Smart Contracts at the European Law Institute (ELI),
  • Sebastian Schwamberger, Professor of Civil, Commercial & Digitization Law at the University of Rostock (Germany)
  • Moderated by our International Fintech Fellow Stéphane Blemus. 
March 2023 Meetings of the Collaboratory:
  • Lewis Cohen, Co-Founder of DLX Law
  • Marco Dell’Erba, Professor of Corporate & Financial Law at the University of Zurich
September 2022 meeting:

Regulating Financial Innovation: The Future of Crypto and Blockchain (October 24, 2022)

Fireside Chat

  • Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
  • Douglas S. Eakeley (Moderator), Alan V. Lowenstein Professor of Corporate & Business Law and Distinguished Professor of Professional Practice, Rutgers Law School
  • Yuliya Guseva (Moderator), Vice Dean and Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School

Managing Regulatory Risk Panel

  • Ethan L. Silver (Moderator), Partner, Investment Management Practice; Chair of FinTech Practice; Chair of Broker-Dealer Practice; Co-chair of Lowenstein Crypto Practice, Lowenstein Sandler
  • Ryne Miller, General Counsel, FTX US
  • Joseph Rotunda, Director of Enforcement Division, Texas State Securities Board
  • Andrew Siegel, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Galaxy Digital

Challenges of Financial Innovation

  • Christopher W. Gerold (Moderator), Partner, Securities Litigation Practice, Corporate Investigations & Integrity Practice, Lowenstein Crypto Practice, Lowenstein Sandler
  • Yuliya Guseva, Vice Dean and Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
  • M. Todd Henderson, Michael J. Marks Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
  • J.W. Verret, Associate Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University
November 2022 meeting:
  • Professor Xuan-Thao Nguyen, University of Washington School of Law Pendleton Miller Chair in Law & Director, Asian Law Center

The Future of Cryptoasset Regulation (February 16, 2022)

Keynote

  • Hon. J. Christopher Giancarlo, former Chairman of the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission

Panelists

  • Douglas S. Eakeley, Alan V. Lowenstein Professor of Corporate & Business Law and Distinguished Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers Law School (moderator)
  • Yuliya Guseva, Professor of Law and Head of the Blockchain and Fintech Program at Rutgers Law School
  • Kristin Johnson, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law and Co-Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Emory University School of Law
  • Lawrence V. Lewitinn, Managing Editor, Global Capital Markets and Co-Host of First Mover at CoinDesk (moderator)
  • Drew Propson, Head of Technology and Innovation in Financial Services at World Economic Forum
  • Lee A. Schneider, General Counsel at Ava Labs
  • Steven L. Schwarcz, Stanley A. Star Distinguished Professor of Law & Business at Duke University School of Law
  • Maria T. Vullo, CEO at Vullo Advisory Services, PLLC

April 2022 meeting:

  • Dan Awrey, Professor of Law at Cornell Law School

Crypto-Firm Meets Law School:

September 2021 meeting:

  • Yesha Yadav, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Community & Professor of Law, Vanderbilt Law School

November 2021 meeting:

  • Carol Goforth, University Professor and Clayton N. Little Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law
  • Brian C. Avello, General Counsel of the Maker Foundation

February 2021 meeting:

  • David L. Yermack, Albert Fingerhut Professor of Finance and Business Transformation, Chair, Finance Department, NYU Stern School of Business

April 2021 meeting:

  • Todd Henderson, Michael J. Marks Professor of Law, Chicago Law School,
  • Yuliya Guseva, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School

May 2021 panel discussion:

  • Francesca Don Angelo, Deputy General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Galaxy Digital
  • Elizabeth Lan Davis, partner at Murphy & McGonigle and former Chief Trial Attorney for the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement
  • Merav Ozair, Fintech Faculty Member at Rutgers Business School
  • Lee Schneider, General Counsel at Ava Labs

Courses

This course introduces students to the regulatory framework designed for legacy financial institutions and explores regulatory approaches to financial innovation, including cryptocurrencies, digital assets, defi, and fintech. The course was first offered in the spring 2021 semester. It was co-taught by Professor Yuliya Guseva, Rutgers Law School, and Professor Merav Ozair, Rutgers Business School. Several distinguished guest speakers joined the class and shared their experiences with the students. Among the speakers were Markos Zachariadis, Professor in Financial Technology at Manchester Business School and Fintech Research Fellow at Cambridge University; Lee Schneider, General Counsel at Ava Labs; John Ho, Global Head of Legal, Financial Markets at Standard Chartered Bank; and Lewis Cohen, partner at DLx Law.

This course explores cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, decentralized finance, and cryptoassets. Students examine financial regulation, securities law, and commodity derivatives regulation applied to crypto-related institutions, assets, and services. The focus of this class is the federal regulatory framework in the United States, U.S. state regulation, international law, and law of the European Union.

Blog Posts and News Articles

Sponsors

The Fintech and Blockchain Program is generously supported by the University Blockchain Research Initiative, the Ripple Impact Fund, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Fintech Fellows and Researchers

Sangita Gazi

Sangita Gazi is a third-year Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. Her Ph.D. dissertation focuses on the macroeconomic impacts of central banks’ innovation policies, particularly in the context of their policies concerning central bank digital currency. Sangita’s research highlights the intricate interaction of law, technologies, and finance and how they are translated into an emerging economy’s context. Her works on payment systems, digital currencies, and regulatory and supervisory technologies have been published by peer-reviewed journals, such as the Cambridge Law Review, the Banking and Finance Law Review, and the Arkansas Law Review, among others. Her collaborative policy briefs and working papers have been published by the Bank for International Settlements, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, and the Asian Development Bank. Sangita also holds a Research Fellowship at Yale Law School. She is a Research Associate at the University College London Centre for Blockchain Technologies (UCL CBT).

  • Soorim Choi, CFA, JD (expected 2025): Soorim is a third-year law student and a former Research Assistant for Professor Sabrina Safrin on Van Dwelling and the right to privacy and for Professor Matteo Gatti on Corporate Governance. He worked as a Summer Associate at DLA Piper, LLP’s finance group on various complex and sophisticated financing transactions. He was also a former global research reporter for South Korean governmental agency, Local Finance Association (LOFA) and published three articles on the U.S. GASB (Governmental Accounting Standard Board) and the state government of Georgia’s practice of governmental accounting
  • Christopher Gitelman, JD (expected 2025): A third-year law student, Christopher Gitelman is an Executive Editor for Rutgers Law Review and a former member of the executive board for the Society for Corporate Law and Governance. Formerly, he worked as a paralegal at Connell Foley, a researcher for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s District Court, and as a summer intern at Sills Cummis and Gross with the Labor and Employment, Tax, Real Estate, and Litigation groups. He is currently exploring appellate litigation at Blume Forte Fried Zerres & Molinar.
  • Anton Karp, BS (expected 2025): Majoring in Physics and Economics at Binghamton University, Anton has interned at the Manhattan and Broome County District Attorney’s Offices. He has also garnered experience at the Legal Information Network for Ukraine, a nonprofit in the immigration law sector, and the Columbia University Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory.
  • Kale Pasch, CFA, JD (Class of 2024): Kale has been a research fellow at CCLG since 2021 and previously served as a Teacher’s Assistant for the “Regulation of  Cryptoassets” course at the law school. His background includes co-founding two technology startups, legislative affairs at the NJEDA, regulatory risk at Bank of America, product management at Fulton Bank, and national bank regulation with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
  • Parker S. Ramsay- A third-year law student, Parker Ramsay is a student attorney at Rutgers Mediation Clinic and has previously served as the Treasurer of the Student Bar Association and Co-Chair of the Student-Faculty Committee. He has worked his entire law school career, formerly as a legal assistant for a real estate law solo practitioner and now as a paralegal at the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office in the Division of Consumer Affairs. Ramsay spent his 2L summer working as a judicial intern for Hon. Jodi Lee Alper, P.J.Ch. and will be clerking for Hon. Christopher R. Kazlau, J.S.C. upon graduation.
  • Soorim Choi, CFA, JD (expected 2025): Soorim is an evening student and a Research Assistant for Professor Sabrina Safrin on Van Dwelling and the right to privacy. He was a former global research reporter for South Korean governmental agency, Local Finance Association (LOFA) and published three articles on the U.S. GASB (Governmental Accounting Standard Board) and the state government of Georgia’s practice of governmental accounting. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at New York University with University Honors Scholar.
  • Christopher Gitelman, JD (expected 2024): A second-year law student, Christopher Gitelman is a staff editor for Rutgers Law Review and a member of the executive board for the Society for Corporate Law and Governance. Formerly, he worked as a paralegal at Connell Foley and as a researcher for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s District Court. He currently works as a summer intern at Sills Cummis and Gross with the Labor and Employment, Tax, Real Estate, and Litigation groups.
  • Kale Pasch, CFA, JD (Class of 2024): Kale has been a research fellow at CCLG since 2021 and previously served as a Teacher’s Assistant for the “Regulation of  Cryptoassets” course at the law school. His background includes co-founding two technology startups, legislative affairs at the NJEDA, regulatory risk at Bank of America, product management at Fulton Bank, and national bank regulation with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
  • Parker S. Ramsay, JD (expected 2025): A second-year law student, Parker Ramsay is an Associate Editor of Rutgers Race and The Law Review, the Treasurer of the Student Bar Association, and former Co-Chair of the Student-Faculty Committee. He previously worked as a legal assistant for a real estate law solo practitioner and is currently a paralegal at the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office in the Division of Consumer Affairs.

  • Çagla Yetis, JD (expected 2024): A third-year law student, Çagla is Managing Editor of the Rutgers University Law Review and a part of the Criminal & Youth Justice Clinic. Formerly, she served as the Vice Chair of the Women’s Law Forum and Vice President of the Society for Corporate Law & Governance. She was previously a Summer Associate at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, where she worked with the FinTech and Crypto groups.

 
  • Mitchell Chan, JD (2023): A third-year law student, Mitchell is Senior Articles Editor of the Rutgers University Law Review, Co-Chair of the Moot Court Board, and former President of the Society for Corporate Law & Governance. He previously interned with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Department of Enforcement.
  • Conor Dickson, JD (2023): A third-year law student, Conor is a student fellow of the Rutgers Law School Blockchain and Fintech Program. Conor earned his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Scranton and currently works as an Intern on the Legal team at DriveWealth, a U.S. equities brokerage that partners with Fintech firms around the world.
  • Kale Pasch, CFA, JD (Class of 2024). Kale is a research fellow at CCLG and currently serves as a Teacher’s Assistant
    for the “Regulation of  Cryptoassets” course at the law school. His background includes regulatory risk at Bank of America, product
    management at Fulton Bank, CEO of a financial technology company (Froogal), and national bank regulation with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
  1. Riham Alzabey, JD (2022): Riham is the Senior Articles Editor for the Rutgers Business Law Journal, a Teaching Associate in the Legal Analysis, Writing and Research Skills course, and the student fellow for the Center for Corporate Law and Governance.
  2. Allison Berdichevskiy, JD (2022): Allison is the Publication Editor for the Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal, a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition Team, and a clinical student attorney for both the Rutgers Federal Tax Law Clinic and Intellectual Property Law Clinic.
  3. Hang Miao, PhD Student, Rutgers University
  4. Kale Pasch, JD (2024): Kale is a first-year law student at Rutgers University-Camden. Prior to joining the Center’s Fintech Research Program, he co-founded a financial technology startup and worked for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as a national bank examiner.

  5. Melissa L. Perez, JD (2022): Melissa is a candidate at Rutgers School of Law (Newark) and currently works as a law clerk at Inglesino, Webster, Wyciskala & Taylor LLC. Melissa earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. Prior to law school, Melissa served the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit in Geneva, Switzerland to conduct research for an organizational management and accountability report.

  • Allison Berdichevskiy, JD (2022)
  • Hang Miao, PhD Student, Rutgers University
  • Matthew Moore, JD (2021)
  • Nikita Shah, JD (2021)
  • Kristen Scully, JD (2021)
  • Andrew Serulneck, JD (2021)
  • Yang Zhang, PhD Student, Rutgers University
  • Leo Choi, JD (2020)
    Leo is currently an Associate at Sosnow & Associates PLLC.
  • Katarina Gonzalez, JD (2020)
    In 2020, Katarina published a note on permissioned blockchains and smart contracts in the Rutgers University Law Review. She is currently working for WingIt Innovations LLC as an eCommerce and Contracts Manager.

Email

rlaw.cclg@law.rutgers.edu