White & Case LLP offers cross-practice and cross-location cooperation on fintech matters and is well versed in cross-border transactions and mergers in the crypto sector, while the regulatory advice covers Bitcoin-related products and BaFin licensing matters. Practice head Karsten Wöckener complements this with expertise in financing rounds and issues pertaining to the launch of digital platforms. Clients include fintech companies, neobanks and digital payment services providers.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Karsten Wöckener particularly impresses with his expertise in the fintech sector.'

  • 'The team's unique selling point is its knowledge of digital currencies and the regulatory framework in various EU jurisdictions.'

  • 'Karsten Wöckener's practice is strong in advising on financial innovations such as the tokenization of assets. What stands out is the commercial and technical understanding of the new business models as well as the ability to analyze and document them - despite their often high complexity - in a legally correct and precise manner, but also in a way that is understandable and manageable for practical users.'

  • 'It is a well-coordinated team that has decades of experience in the market - especially at partner level. They explain very well on which issues it is worth negotiating and on which issues it seems pointless, either because this is market practice or because this is never accepted by the other side. This makes the work very efficient.'

  • 'Andreas Lischka: Very deep knowledge of all banking and credit law, also advises on English law. He is available to answer questions at any time and answers them very quickly and competently. He has a very confident and competent demeanor, one always feels supported.'

Key clients

  • Bitpanda Issuance GmbH
  • Bitpanda GmbH, now Bitpanda Group AG
  • ETC Issuance GmbH
  • Fidelity International
  • Tradias Issuance GmbH
  • wefox
  • creditshelf
  • FNZ Group
  • Nets / Nexi Group
  • Pollen Street Capital

Work highlights

  • Advising the Austrian fintech Bitpanda on the expansion of its product portfolio to include the Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC as well as on the reclassification of Bitpanda GmbH into a Swiss Holding AG and the subsequent merger of Bitpanda GmbH into a Swiss GmbH in order to prepare the Bitpanda Group's capital market viability.
  • Advising ETC Group on expanding its product portfolio to include the first cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded commodity (ETC) based on an index provided by MSCI Inc.
  • Advising creditshelf AG and creditshelf solutions GmbH on an asset-backed financing of €100 million by Goldman Sachs.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Karsten Wöckener

Other key lawyers

Henning Berger, Jost Kotthoff, Stefan Pitz, Andreas Lischka