Fred Fedynyshyn advises blockchain, fintech and financial services clients on regulatory matters and internal compliance issues, and provides business and product counseling for these clients. He is experienced at guiding clients through the full range of legal, regulatory and compliance implications of using virtual currencies to facilitate cross-border payments, having previously served as the chief legal and compliance officer at a bitcoin-based fintech startup headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, where he managed all of these matters for the company.

In particular, Fred’s regulatory counsel includes advice to clients leveraging virtual currencies and the blockchain for payments as well as a broad range of other business uses. He regularly engages with regulators on his clients’ behalf to help shape regulation surrounding emerging technologies. Fred’s compliance counsel includes managing internal investigations and responding to government investigations involving a broad range of financial crimes. He draws on his experience as chief legal and compliance officer, where he implemented a best-in-class anti-money laundering program, and his time in the Office of the General Counsel at the National Security Agency (NSA), where he was assigned to NSA’s Counterterrorism office, providing legal support to U.S. government investigations into terror financing.

Fred also counsels clients on cybersecurity, privacy and data protection matters. For clients in a broad range of industries, Fred drafts and implements cybersecurity policies and advises on their implementation. When global companies find themselves victimized by cyber intrusions, he provides oversight of internal investigations into the intrusion and manages the incident response process. He has counseled leading global technology companies on U.S. and E.U. privacy regulations and, through his work at the NSA, has a deep understanding of the ways that sophisticated cyber actors operate.

Fred’s extensive experience working with companies doing business in Africa allows him to provide practical advice to clients with operations throughout the developing world. He counsels clients on the legal requirements in countries around the world and has engaged directly with regulators in Kenya, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and others. He helps clients headquartered in the United States, Europe and other parts of the developed world navigate complex and unfamiliar regulatory regimes without running afoul of their home countries’ requirements, including financial crime, national security and anti-bribery laws and regulations. He also advises clients headquartered in the developing world looking to enter new markets and expand their businesses into developed economies.