Following a period of submitted editorial research in 2021, Citywealth introduced "Citywealth Crypto Accredited" listings and rankings of recommended and highly recommended people and organisations in the crypto world. Today, with the publication of the Top 15 US Legal Crypto Practitioners 2022, Citywealth celebrates some of the best crypto experts in the United States.

Patrick McCarty, Of Counsel, Ruddy Gregory, Washington, DC

I got into crypto in 2017. I noticed that the CFTC permitted SEFs to offer swaps on Bitcoin and other crypto starting in 2014. CME and CBOE listed Bitcoin Futures starting in Dec. 2017. I started teaching a Crypto Seminar at Georgetown University Law Center starting in the Fall of 2018 and haven't looked back. 

Highly likely that the US Congress will pass digital asset market legislation next year. This legislation will be similar to the Dodd Frank Act and swaps in terms of clarifying which digital assets are "commodities" - and under the CFTC - and which are "securities" - and under the SEC. The Lummis Gillibrand Bill is a pretty good road map.

Mark Ruddy, Securities and Commodities Attorney, Ruddy Gregory, Washington, DC

Providing value and relevance to our clients means meeting their needs.  Our clients identify where there are new trading opportunities and therefore dictate our involvement in markets such as the crypto space.    

Some much needed clarity in the US regulatory landscape is on the horizon. In March the White House issued an executive order on cryptocurrencies directing federal agencies to coordinate their approach to the sector, and since then bi-partisan bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate that bring unified federal oversight to bear on digital asset markets in the U.S. Regulatory clarity may help generate a greater interest in the US marketplace since many exchanges and crypto participants to date have been unwilling to interact with the US market for fear of legal backlash.