Experts

Ville Valkonen is Chief Compliance Officer at Aave, CFO at Legal Design Summit.

AAVE

Ville Valkonen

Michael Burgess is the COO of Ren, an interoperability protocol that brings cross-chain assets to DeFi.He is a key driver in the space and uses his past work in the international development arena to help architect systems that capture liquidity via subsidy mechanisms (i.e. yield farming). He also collaborates with industry associations to further advance the field and lobby for sensible policy at the international level.

He is formally trained in economics and previous to Ren, designed public policy and regulatory frameworks for an international accreditation body.

Michael Burgess

Zyshan Kaba is Principal at Liberty Venture Partners.

About the next 25 years: decentralization, privacy, sovereignty, biotech and wellness, climate change and decarbonization, manufacturing, food and water, space, community, and dematerialization.

Formerly I practiced corporate and securities law and am called to the bar in both New York and Ontario. I focused on private and public corporate finance, M&A, and business and regulatory strategy covering technology, venture capital, and financial services.

I like to learn, think, and build. The future is bright if we make it so. I’ll be sure to wave. Swimming upstream.

Zyshan Kaba

James Blakemore is Partner at Blakemore Fallon and Ketsal Consulting.

​James Blakemore, '13, is co-founder of the blockchain consultancy Ketsal Consulting LLC, and co-founder of Blakemore, Fallon, Garcia, Rosini & Russo PLLC, a blockchain-focused law firm. In practice, he represents a variety of blockchain companies, including developers and centralized and decentralized digital asset trading platforms. At the Law School he teaches Blockchain and the Law, and his research interests include the application of the federal securities and commodities laws to cryptocurrency.

Prior to co-founding Ketsal Consulting, Professor Blakemore was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he represented foreign sovereigns, central banks, state-owned entities, and global financial institutions. The matters he worked on included class-action securities litigation, disputes related to foreign exchange high-frequency trading platforms, and regulatory investigations into allegedly manipulative trading practices in foreign exchange and sovereign debt markets. He also served as a clerk to The Hon. John Dowdell of the Northern District of Oklahoma and interned for Ricardo Luis Lorenzetti, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Argentina.

Professor Blakemore holds a JD, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School. He also holds, from the University of Utah, a master's degree in British and American literature and a bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, in English and Spanish.

James Blakemore

Stuart Alderoty is General Counsel at Ripple. Stuart brings more than 30 years of legal experience to the role with expertise in financial services and regulatory affairs. He’s been General Counsel and part of the executive leadership teams at CIT Group and HSBC North America Holdings. Stuart also was Managing Counsel at American Express where he served on the leadership team of the President and CEO of American Express’ Consumer Card Business. Stuart began his career in private practice and was a partner with the international law firm of LeBouef, Lamb, Greene and MacRae where he specialized in litigation.

Stuart Alderoty

Amandine Doat is Associate General Counsel & Head of Public Policy at Ledger. Within the legal department of Ledger, as the Associate General Counsel, I am collaborating on several legal related matters across the three business units (hardware wallet, enterprise solutions and Internet of Things) focusing on Commercial Contracts, Regulatory, IP and adaptation of the newly created regulation for crypto-assets.

As head of the Public Policy and Governmental Affairs Strategies, I am working in close collaboration with regulators and peers to help building the future legal framework of blockchain and crypto-assets.

I am following with great interest all developments in this new ecosystem starting with ICOs and STOs, stable coins and central banks initiatives on virtual currencies.

Business oriented, dynamic, and team player, I work with enthousiasme on any and all legal matters interacting with business partners inside and outside the company. In my previous roles, I have been managing a team of several in-house lawyers, with a multiplier mindset, aiming at empowering my team members.

Amandine Doat

Ian Darrow is Policy and engineering at Protocol Labs, Board Member at Blockchain Association. Formerly, General Counsel and Chief Regulatory Officer at LedgerX.

Ian Darrow is the Operations Team Lead for the Filecoin project. His work is funded by Protocol Labs, which builds protocols, systems, and tools to improve the fundamental architecture of the internet. Previously, he was the general counsel of LedgerX, where he oversaw its certification by the CFTC as the first federally regulated exchange and clearinghouse to list and clear physically-settled bitcoin swaps and options. Ian earned his Juris Doctorate from Duke and practiced as an attorney at Goodwin before transitioning into tech. Ian has also served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps and attended the Recurse Center, the selective New York-based programming retreat for experienced software engineers.

Ian Darrow

Veronica K. McGregor is Chief Legal Officer at ShapeShift. Payments Lawyer.

She is  Vice-Chair at ABA Consumer Financial Services Committee; Board of Regents at American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers; Fellow at American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers; Editorial Board at FinTech Law Reporter.

Formerly, she was Chair at American Bar Association, Electronic Financial Services Subcommittee (2013-2015); President - San Francisco Bank Attorneys Association (2010); Chair at California State Bar Association, Consumer Financial Services Committee (2009).

Specialties: Consumer Financial Services (Payments, mobile, prepaid, lending, money transmission, AML, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, bitcoin,social media, ecommerce, p2p, b2p).

Veronica K. McGregor

Roberto Klein is Co-Founder at Backed Finance. Formerly, Legal & Regulatory at DAOstack.

Roberto Klein

Krasina Mileva is Founder, COO & Legal Counsel at DOVU, Blockchain-powered mobility.

I have over 12 years of legal experience, with solid business awareness, complimented by strong interpersonal, negotiation, problem-solving and managerial skills. Always looking for new challenges. The latest chapter in my career is tied in with Blockchain, Smart Contracts, Cryptocurrency, APIs and Transportation.

Ville Valkonen

Chief Compliance Officer at Aave.

Ville Valkonen Introduction

Ville Valkonen Work Experience