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DeFi / DAO Legal Wrapper and Setup

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Legal framework for your DAO or DeFi project

Swiss Associations or Foundations are currently the leading DAO / DeFi entity solution, chosen by many established and upcoming crypto projects alike. We will take care of the complete corporate, regulatory and tax setup tailored to your vision. Get the legal framework for your decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) or decentralized finance (DeFi) project.

We will provide a legal wrapper for your DAO / DeFi project to: 

  • Minimize personal liability for developers, users and members 
  • Provide a secure way to issue your token 
  • Help manage internal staff and external service providers 
  • Facilitate on-chain governance.  

Beyond setting up your legal entity, we help you solve all further legal challenges with our wide range of additional services. 

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DeFi / DAO setup process

  1. 1
    Crypto Project Workshop  

    We kick-off every project by having a 2h Workshop with key stakeholders from your side and corporate, regulatory and tax experts from our side. It’s the most efficient and cost-saving way to gather information, make a clear decision on setting up your project in Switzerland and define a roadmap to execute. 

  2. 2
    Set up of DAO / DeFi legal wrapper

    We use the insights gathered under step 1 to advise on the best governance structure, prepare the documentation, incorporate the entity and have it registered in the Swiss commercial registry. While most projects choose to incorporate a Swiss Association or Foundation in the cryptovalley in Zug, we tailor the corporate setup to your specific needs.  

  3. 3
    Post-incorporation services

    We are happy to guide you through the remaining legal setup, e.g incorporation and contracts with development companies, service agreements, token terms, SAFTs for private token sales, ICOs/IDOs/IEOs/airdrops and other public sales, token legal opinions, advice on decentralization and anything else that you need for a solid legal foundation.  

DeFi / DAO setup fees

What is included
  • Advice on setup and governance: There are numerous ways and jurisdictions to be contemplated when setting up a legal entity for a decentralized project. Likewise, the on-governance structure can be reflected differently in the legal entity. We will advise you on and execute the optimal corporate structure and governance design in Switzerland.
  • Incorporation and registration: We draft the necessary incorporation documents including the statutes and any other documents. We then make sure the entity is incorporated and registered in the commercial registry if necessary. All communication with the authorities is handled by us.   
Who it is for
  • The product is aimed at all initiators, developers and stakeholders of blockchain-based and decentralized projects including any DeFi, Metaverse, Gaming and other web3 projects. 
How long it takes
  • 3-4 weeks.
Pricing
  • EUR 5.000 (excl. VAT, excl. costs for notary and commercial registry, approx. EUR 500-2.000, depending on chosen legal structure) 
  • Blockchain Workshop details and pricing here

Add-on services

We understand that every vision is different, and we are here to identify and execute a sound legal strategy. Our Add-on services will be tailored to your needs – either as a flat fee or upon hourly work. Here are a few examples: 

Set-up of a development company 
  • We help you setup a separate development company and draft the necessary legal agreements 
Advice and rulings on the optimal tax setup 
  • Our tax experts make sure you understand and efficiently plan all tax matters related to your project 
Service agreements with third parties  
  • We help you establish and maintain the legal relationship to external developers, marketers and advisors
Token terms, license and website agreements 
  • We draft and review all legal documents including token terms, website and privacy policies
Launching your token 
  • We offer conclusive advice on the legal structuring of your token launch, including technical feedback on payment, utility, asset and security token qualification as well as decentralisation
Token sale, SAFT, public sale and legal opinions for token listings on exchanges 
  • We have accompanied numerous projects in private and public token sales and understand the legal requirements to get your token listed on crypto exchanges 
In depth legal analysis regarding financial market and AML compliance in the DeFi space 
  • We are at the forefront of financial regulation in the crypto space and are able to in-depth assess the challenges and solutions of crypto and DeFi projects when it comes to regulatory and AML compliance
Obtaining a FINMA no-action letter for your project 
  • We have worked closely with the Swiss financial market regulator on various projects and are able to efficiently obtain a ruling for your specific case

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Frequently asked questions about DeFi / DAO legal wrapper and setup

LEXR – the blockchain experts since day one

Legal Expertise: We have worked with our customers for years in the setup of decentralized protocols, blockchain infrastructure and VASPs. Where needed, we help building the bridge to the traditional financial world.

Tech Know-How: Crypto moves notoriously fast. We are personal users of blockchain technology because we are genuinely interested in where the future is heading. We hold tokens, we interact with DeFi, we act as keyholder of the tzBTC and we follow crypto twitter.

Community Voice: We lecture and educate on the intersection of blockchain and legal, we take part in community events, and we are part of the Swiss Blockchain Federation to help shape the future crypto laws in Switzerland.

Some of our clients:

  • Bitcoin Suisse 
  • Tezos 
  • Bitmain 
  • matrixport  
  • Aktionariat 
  • Unix  
  • Gro
  • Ecoo 
  • StakingRewards 
  • Splint Invest

About us

We’re a growing team of 30+ legal professionals. Some of our experts include:

  • 1

    Christian is an entrepreneur and lawyer with a focus on the intersection between technology and law. He regularly speaks, publishes, and advises on blockchain-related topics and is specialized in financial market regulation. 

    Christian Meisser, CEO & Legal Expert 

  • 2

    Florian advises clients in the fields of Blockchain, DLT, Digital Assets, and FinTech, predominantly focusing his practice on financial market regulation and corporate law matters. He also lectures on legal and compliance issues related to Digital Assets, DLT, and DeFi. 

    Florian Prantl, Senior Legal Counsel 

  • 3

    Silvan is our tax counsel. He specialises in corporate taxation of fintech, asset management and crypto and has substantial experience in the setup of investment funds, management companies, banks and structured ICOs, stable coins as well as more traditional financial instruments. 

    Silvan Amberg, Tax Counsel 

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