Role: General Counsel & Head of Legal (Blockchain, Digital Assets, Payments & Financial Infrastructure)

Overview

This part-time General Counsel & Head of Legal role offers an equity cofounder opportunity within a pioneering decentralized infrastructure project focused on integrating Web2, Web3, AI, identity, financial infrastructure, and decentralized compute into a unified operational environment. The organization is developing a sovereign Layer-0 Operating System and Layer-1 blockchain designed to support decentralized finance, AI agents, DePIN networks, and enterprise Web3 adoption, with plans to integrate regulated traditional financial services through an OCC national trust bank charter.

Responsibilities

• Lead regulatory strategy and compliance frameworks for Layer-1 blockchain operations, decentralized infrastructure, tokenomics, decentralized identity, payments, and digital asset custody.
• Advise on U.S. and international regulations including SEC, CFTC, FinCEN (AML/KYC/OFAC), OCC, GDPR, and emerging crypto/fintech laws.
• Provide legal support for the OCC national trust bank charter application and design licensing strategies (VASP, MSB, MTL, trust company) with proactive regulatory engagement.
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex agreements related to strategic partnerships, vendor contracts, equity/token allocations, developer programs, custody agreements, and financial services integrations.
• Establish and maintain corporate governance structures for a network of over 100 equity cofounders and support potential banking subsidiary formation.
• Protect intellectual property related to blockchain execution, fully homomorphic encryption, zero-knowledge proofs, AI integration, and financial infrastructure.
• Identify and mitigate legal and regulatory risks across product development, token launches, enterprise integrations, payments platforms, and custody operations.
• Oversee dispute resolution, litigation strategy, and insurance programs.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, compliance, banking strategy, and executive teams to embed legal and compliance-by-design principles.
• Represent the organization in regulatory forums, industry associations, policy discussions, and engagements with banking and financial regulators.
• Contribute to whitepapers, publications, and thought leadership on blockchain governance, digital asset legal frameworks, and compliant DeFi models.
• Mentor team members on legal best practices and foster a culture of proactive compliance.

Deliverables (Within 90 Days)

• Comprehensive global regulatory compliance roadmap and gap analysis covering digital assets, payments, custody, and OCC charter requirements.
• Standardized legal templates, policies, and agreements for partnerships, equity, developer terms, platform operations, and regulated financial services.
• Legal gap analysis and risk assessment framework supporting the OCC charter application and integrated banking/blockchain model.
• Regulatory engagement strategy including regulator mapping and intellectual property protection audit.
• Cross-functional training materials and leadership presentations on key legal priorities for token launch, mainnet, and regulated financial infrastructure rollout.

Qualifications

Required

• Juris Doctor (JD) from a top-tier law school with active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Minimum 8 years of progressive legal experience, including at least 4 years focused on cryptocurrency, blockchain, DeFi, Web3, fintech, payments, digital assets, or financial services law.
• Proven experience advising on token launches, securities law compliance (Howey test, Reg D, Reg A+, etc.), digital asset regulations, payments compliance, and supporting bank charter or trust company applications.
• Deep expertise in digital asset taxation, data privacy (GDPR/CCPA), payments systems, digital asset custody, AML/KYC frameworks, and intellectual property law in emerging technologies.

Preferred

• Prior in-house General Counsel, Head of Legal, or senior legal leadership experience at a blockchain/crypto company, fintech, payments provider, or regulated financial institution.
• Direct experience with DePIN, Layer-1 protocols, enterprise blockchain adoption, OCC charter applications, or federal banking regulatory processes.
• Established network with regulators, policymakers, crypto/fintech legal specialists, or banking compliance experts.
• Publications, speaking engagements, or thought leadership in blockchain law, fintech regulation, digital assets, or payments.

Soft Skills

• Strategic legal thinker balancing innovation with risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Collaborative leader and effective communicator able to work across technical, product, compliance, banking strategy, and executive teams.
• High integrity, sound judgment, and commitment to ethical practices in Web3 and regulated financial services.

Compensation & Growth

• This is a part-time equity and token-based cofounder role.
• Equity in the parent organization and the blockchain ecosystem, along with token allocations.
• Initial financing completed; discussions ongoing with investors to fund expansion and salaries.
• Salaried compensation expected to begin within 3 to 5 months following node launch, token sales, or funding.

Location

• Not specified; role involves global regulatory engagement and collaboration with distributed teams.

Additional Information

• The organization currently has approximately 100 active equity cofounders and contributors worldwide, including senior blockchain architects, AI specialists, infrastructure engineers, product leaders, and security professionals.
• The project has achieved significant traction with over 1,000,000 wallet accounts, 50,000+ social followers, 300,000+ smart contracts deployed, and 10,000+ developers registered for the MVP developer hub.
• The technology platform aims to deliver billions of transactions per second potential, secure runtimes, AI-driven decentralized infrastructure, and full-stack developer tools.
• The organization is actively pursuing a U.S. OCC national trust bank charter to bridge decentralized infrastructure with regulated banking, ISO 20022 payments, and digital asset custody services.