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Senior Legal Counsel (Licensing & Crypto Product)
New YorkPosted 2 weeks ago
Full-timehybrid
Job Description
Senior Legal Counsel (Licensing & Crypto Product)
Department: Legal & Compliance
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: New York
Description
The Senior Legal Counsel (Licensing & Crypto Product) plays a key role in building and scaling KAST. This is a high-ownership position where you’ll take responsibility for meaningful work from day one, collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, and help turn ambitious goals into real-world outcomes.
Your mission is to move fast and raise the bar. You’ll operate in a dynamic, high-growth environment, navigate ambiguity with confidence, and contribute to systems, products, or processes that scale with the company. Quality matters, speed matters, and ownership is non-negotiable.
This role is for builders, people who take initiative, think in systems, and care deeply about doing great work. If you’re excited about working at the intersection of technology, execution, and impact, you’ll feel right at home at KAST.
Responsibilities
- Lead the preparation, submission, and management of Money Transmitter License (MTL) applications across US states and international equivalents.
- Act as the primary legal point of contact for state and federal regulators (e.g., FinCEN, NYDFS) during the application and examination phases.
- Oversee and coordinate with specialized outside law firms to ensure high-quality and timely licensing submissions.
- Ensure all licenses remain in good standing, managing renewals and material change notifications.
- Provide legal guardrails during the design phase of new crypto products (e.g., stablecoins, or on/off ramp features).
- Conduct deep-dive legal analysis on whether new assets or features trigger securities, commodities, or banking laws.
- Draft and maintain customer-facing Terms of Service, user agreements, and specific product disclosures that mitigate legal risk.
- Stay ahead of global crypto regulations (e.g., evolving SEC/CFTC guidance in the US) and advise leadership on required pivots.
- Partner with Compliance to ensure that legal requirements are translated into clear operational workflows.
- Write high-level legal policies that set the standard for the company's regulatory stance.
Qualifications & Skills
- JD degree and active membership in good standing with a relevant Bar association.
- Minimum 5 years of experience specifically in crypto-assets, blockchain, or fintech legal environments.
- Proven experience successfully obtaining MTL licenses (US state-level) and similar financial service licenses (VASP, etc.).
- Deep knowledge of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), USA PATRIOT Act, and the "Howey Test" (securities vs. commodities).