Bryan Ventura

Bryan is an experienced financial services and investment funds lawyer.  He specialises in FinTech and virtual assets (crypto / Web3).  He also advises on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), start-ups, and general corporate and commercial law.

Bryan works at the forefront of developing financial services technology.  He is an expert in virtual asset projects (cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DeFi and blockchain) and their regulation.

His expertise covers financial markets conduct law (the FMCA) including licensing, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (the AML/CFT Act), financial regulation, company law, the NZX Main Board Listing Rules, the NZX Participant Rules, and the Catalist Public Market Rules.

He advises on capital raising, commercial contracts, consumer T&Cs, establishment of investment funds (unit trusts, limited partnerships), corporate structuring, all forms of traditional financial services (retail and wholesale), and FinTechs.

Bryan advises Web3 companies and VASPs, start-ups, medium & large corporates, and financial institutions, based both in New Zealand and offshore.  His clients include Dimensional Fund Advisors, Macquarie Asset Management, Metrics Capital Partners, Implemented Investment Solutions, Squirrel, eToro, BlackBull Markets, Binance, Centrality (portfolio companies), Techemy, Cryptovoxels, Trust Alliance NZ, and Zap NZ.

In addition to his experience in private practice, Bryan has previously operated businesses and worked in-house at NZX (New Zealand’s first licensed securities exchange).  He is a versatile and commercially sound operator with a holistic grasp of financial services and the capital markets.  He has a deep understanding of technology relevant to FinTech and blockchain through his legal practice and his active involvement in the start-up and crypto investment communities.

Bryan is tireless, personable, and he understands his clients’ drivers and objectives.  He advises on complex (and at times unprecedented) legal and commercial matters under tight deadlines.  One prominent Web3 / crypto client says of working with him: “Bryan was pragmatic and used his deep knowledge of both the regulatory landscape and technology to ensure a smooth completion of the transaction. Bryan made himself readily available throughout the transaction and was a pleasure to deal with throughout”.

Bryan is the Chair of BlockchainNZ (which is part of the New Zealand Tech Alliance).  He is also a Council Member of the International Digital Asset Exchange Association (IDAXA) and a member of the Payments NZ Forum.