How can a law firm provide services to blockchain companies?

Analise Borg sat down with the founding members of E&S Group, CHRIS ELLUL and KARL SCHRANZ to explain further how their company shifted their operations into ICO and blockchain.

What made you want to shift from advising corporate services to Blockchain and Crypto? How did it come about?

Since your company is the first one to offer such services with no specific guidelines set by any authority, how did you find out what needs to be presented to open up ICOs in Malta?

There was a 4 month gap between the firm identifying the potential of the Industry and actually offering this solution to clients. These months were spent researching the industry, Local and EU legislation as well as holding discussions with authorities. We had identified that an ICO can be run as a reward based crowdfunding, which did not require any specific permission. Naturally such offers where drafted to be in line with all the other pieces of legislation that are already in force. What kind of services are you offering to your clients?

We do not only offer legal services to Blockchain and crypto related businesses, but we also have a team offering tokenomics as well as banking and Know Your Customer/ Anti-Money Laundering solutions.

With the introduction of the new legislation, your company’s services are now sought after. Are you finding a good workforce interested in this sector?

We have been actively recruiting for over a year now. Being still in its infancy, we focus on recruiting talent with an interest in the sector as it is practically impossible to find experienced candidates. New recruits are then put through an intensive internal training.

What type of clients seek your Blockchain / Crypto Legal services? Do you have both foreign and local projects in the pipeline?

Most of the projects we are involved in are happening through Malta. Initially we only had projects with foreign promoters, however recently we have some very interesting local projects that we are thrilled to be working on.

With the positive response you are seeing in this sector, do you believe that blockchain and crypto will be the new future of the economy? Why?

Whilst still in its infancy, the technology is developing at a very rapid pace. This is mainly due to the availability of capital through ICOs. Whereas through regular funding rounds one could expect to take a sig- nificant amount of time to get their project funded to be market ready.Through ICOs, this timeline is significantly reduced. This means that we could see the effects of blockchain and crypto currencies in our daily lives sooner than most can imagine.

Do you think that Malta will remain the leader in this sector, now that these laws are soon to be implemented?

Currently, Malta has a significant advantage over other countries in this sector. We believe that this is not only due to the strength of the new laws, but also due to the fact that authorities have taken their time to understand the requirements of the industry. There is a lot of excitement around Malta in this space with many key players actively moving here. The major concern is to ensure the supply of a qualified workforce.Currently,this is difficult in Malta due to the lack of expertise. The government, however,is tackling this issue and we are seeing a significant influx of foreign workers to reduce this skill gap.

We have been involved in the crypto and blockchain industry since early 2017. We were asked to assist in a transaction which introduced us to this world and as a young and dynamic firm we were immediately intrigued by the potential offered, not only by the technology, but also the availability of the community to fund projects they truly believe in.Whilst we are now very active in the Blockchain and Crypto advisory, I would not say that our core business has shifted. Crypto and blockchain businesses require the same type of services as other businesses in other industries. What we have done is to be one of the first firms to have invested in establishing a strong advisory team focused on blockchain and crypto.