Global Mindset. Local Instinct.

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

attorney Brendan Cochrane

Biography

Practice Areas

Education

Bar Admissions


Biography

Brendan Cochrane is a blockchain and cryptocurrency attorney based in Boston with broad legal experience and a focus on assisting clients keep up in the rapidly changing compliance landscape. He has advised blockchain and cryptocurrency clients on forming Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, Bitcoin ATM companies on money transmitter licensing and anti-money laundering compliance, and NASDAQ-listed entertainment companies entering the NFT and metaverse spaces. Brendan is a co-founder of a DAO collective facilitating name, image, and likeness partnerships with student athletes. He oversaw investigations into fraudulent Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions utilizing a leading blockchain forensics analytics tool. Brendan has a Blockchain User Certification from Blockchain Educators and is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, the gold standard of AML certifications.

He is also a recognized thought leader on cryptocurrency and blockchain issues in the law as a regular contributor to Cointelegraph magazine and is in demand as a speaker. He has been a panelist at several conferences, including NFT NYC 2023, the University of Wisconsin Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists and the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists.

Brendan also serves as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School where he teaches Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and the Law. Prior to joining YK Law Brendan counseled clients on business law issues at international law firms in Seoul and New York and advised a Tier-1 Fortune 50 commercial and investment bank.

He was educated at the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin School of Law, where he was a member of the Wisconsin Law Review.


Practice Areas

  • Compliance & Investigations
  • Intellectual Property
  • Entertainment and Media
  • Business and Commercial Law

Education

  • University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, Wisconsin
    • 2013
  • University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
    • 2007

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts

Professional Associations

  • Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists

Classes & Seminars

  • Panelist – New Age of Digital Currency: How Sanctions Compliance Must Adapt (Webinar for Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS) – January 14, 2021
  • Speaker – The Proliferation of Cryptocurrency and the Changing Environment of Sanctions Evasion (California Financial Crimes Investigators Association) – March 16, 2021
  • Speaker – Blockchain Consolidation – ACAMS San Diego – Baja California – July 29, 2021
  • Guest Lecturer – Cryptocurrency, Money Laundering, and Investigations – Babson College – November 16th, 2021
  • Panelist – Metaverse Meeting – Crypto Law Regulation & Enforcement – Suffolk University – March 1st, 2022
  • Guest Lecturer – National Security, The Dark Web, & The Metaverse – Suffolk University – Sawyer Business School – Blockchain Revolution – April 21, 2022
  • Guest – Lexcon Crypto Podcast with former New Hampshire Gubernatorial Candidate Andrew Hemingway – The Crypto Regulatory Environment – August 25th, 2022
  • Panelist – The Future of Crypto Regulation in the United States: What Happens After FTX’s Demise – University of Wisconsin’s Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance & Investment Banking – Nov. 28th, 2022
  • Panelist – NFTs, IP, and Entertainment Law – NFT.NYC – April 14th, 2023

Experience

  • Conducted an internal audit of a Bitcoin ATM company’s anti-money laundering compliance program; advising client on risks and potential controls.
  • Conducted a training on Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and transaction monitoring for cryptocurrency startup personnel.
  • Drafted reports for law enforcement on results of cryptocurrency fraud investigation utilizing blockchain forensics analytics platform.
  • Researced algorithmic issues relating to a stablecoin’s price at a cryptocurrency exchange. Preparing a report on facts and possible causes of action.
  • Advised on application for release of blocked funds to Office of Foreign Assets Control.
  • Examed a FinTech company’s compliance and accounting internal reports; identifying ethical concerns for senior management.
  • Provided legal opinion on application of state Money Transmitter Laws to cryptocurrency ATM company.
  • Drafted internal investigation report for independent committee of NASDAQ-listed company in metaverse and NFT industries.
  • Advised blockchain clients on US jurisdictions for incorporation, entity choice, and on securities registration and exemption procedures.

Languages

  • Korean

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