New York Partner Named Cryptocurrency/Blockchain/Fintech Trailblazer

Yvette Valdez, a partner in Latham & Watkins’ New York office, Co-Chair of the firm’s global Digital Assets & Web3 Practice, and member of the Financial Institutions and Fintech Industry Groups, has been named to the National Law Journal’s (NLJ) 2022 list of Cryptocurrency/Blockchain/Fintech Trailblazers. The competitive list recognizes “legal professionals who have made significant marks on the practice, policy and technological advancements in their sector,” according to the NLJ.

Valdez, who also serves as Co-Chair of Latham’s Commodities and Derivatives Regulation and Enforcement practice and is head of the US Derivatives Regulatory practice, advises emerging companies, financial institutions, and investment managers on complex regulatory challenges in the development of bespoke financial crypto-asset and cryptocurrency technologies including token sales, market infrastructure, trading, clearing, and settlement solutions on distributed ledger technology. She advises clients on domestic and cross-border cutting edge fintech initiatives in the derivatives markets. In addition, Valdez has significant experience representing dealers, intermediaries, and end-users in connection with derivatives (swaps and futures) legal and regulatory matters under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commodity Exchange Act, as well as related CFTC, SEC, and prudential regulation.

Valdez has served as Co-Chair of the Global Blockchain Business Council’s Derivatives Working Group and is an active member of the Collective Future, an organization of women leaders in the global blockchain and crypto space that focuses on fostering diversity. She has earned many accolades for her trailblazing practice, including being named to Innovate Finance’s Women in Fintech Powerlist and receiving the Innovation award from the New York Law Journal. She also has been named a “Woman to Watch in Crypto & Blockchain” by the BCB Group, a leading cryptocurrency prime broker; a “Woman Worth Watching” by Profiles in Diversity Journal; and she is featured in Chambers USA’s Derivatives: Mainly Regulatory Spotlight Table.