David advises domestic and international banks, financial and payment service providers as well as other companies of the financial sector on financial regulatory issues. He regularly supports fintech companies with digital business models, including distributed ledger technology (DLT) based models, in licensing procedures and represents them before regulatory authorities such as BaFin and ESMA. David also advises on ongoing compliance and money laundering prevention, as well as on transaction-related regulatory matters, e.g., in the context of shareholder control procedures.
Education and Career
David studied law at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, where he also received his Ph.D., and at the University of Oxford (UK). Prior to joining YPOG, David worked as a lawyer at SMP, focusing on fund structuring, investment regulatory law and anti-money laundering compliance, and at a boutique law firm in Hamburg, focusing on corporate law and M&A.
David regularly publishes on financial regulatory matters.
Experience:
David's recent work highlights include:- BaFin licensing procedures, including structuring of business models in accordance with regulatory requirements and establishment of internal compliance organizations (in particular outsourcing, DORA compliance, and money laundering prevention) and customer facing documentation
- MiCAR authorization and notification procedures (e.g., Bullish Europe, several companies of Boerse Stuttgart Digital), including the first simplified MiCAR procedure for the custody of crypto-assets, the first complete, non-simplified MiCAR authorization procedure for trading and custody of crypto-assets, and the first notification for the operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets, each in Germany
- Shareholder control procedures in accordance with KWG, WpIG, and MiCAR
- Implementation of compliance requirements concerning new regulatory requirements, in particular MiFID II, MiCAR, DORA, and new requirements from supervisory authorities, in particular in connection with outsourcing management, cost transparency, best execution, and money laundering prevention
- Structuring of fintech business models considering regulatory requirements, including cooperations, white label solutions, tied agent models, agents, and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications
Qualifications
- German qualified attorney (Rechtsanwalt)
- Ph.D. in law (Dr. iur) (Bucerius Law School)
Languages
- German
- English
- Regulation of trading platforms for DLT-based assets under MiFID II, DLT Pilot Regime, and MiCAR,
BKR 2025, 632 [in German] - Treatment of NFTs and utility tokens under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation,
BKR 2025, 162 [in German] - Systematics of white paper obligations under MiCAR for public offerings and trading of crypto assets,
BKR 2024, 641 (together with Dr. Carola Rathke) [in German] - ZuFinG and FinmadiG – a reorganization of the crypto landscape,
BKR 2023, 849 (together with Dr. Anika Patz) [in German] - Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) – overview of the new EU regime for crypto assets and crypto asset service providers,
DB 2023, 1906 (together with Dr. Anika Patz) [in German] - The regulation of E-Money Tokens – Analysis and classification in the regulatory context,
BKR 2023, 373 (together with Dr. Carsten Lösing) [in German] - The Company Register under MoPeG,
NZG 2022, 243 [in German] - Transparency register disclosure requirements for listed companies,
GWuR 2021, 113 [in German] - (Renewed) Amendment of the Money Laundering Act as of August 1, 2021, by the “Transparency Register and Financial Information Act”,
NZG 2021, 957 [in German] - The beneficial owner – Conceptualization in the systematic xontext of the Money Laundering Act,
NZG 2021, 323 [in German] - Controlling influence pursuant to Section 290 II No. 1 HGB – End of the “material” approach?,
NZG 2021, 419 [in German] - Special succession rights in limited partnership shares,
NZG 2021, 1628 (together with Hubertus Leo) [in German] - On the (legally secure) structuring of call and put options on GmbH shares,
GmbHR 2021, 1079 (together with Oscar Meyn) [in German] - “Naming and Shaming” in the age of the digital platform economy,
BKR 2020, 335 [in German] - On the material quality and ownership of crypto tokens,
BKR 2020, 76 [in German] - Rechtswidrigkeitszusammenhang und Schutzzweck der Norm, Studien zum Zivilrecht,
Nomos, 2020 [in German] - Investor onboarding for private equity and venture capital funds – Legal background and current developments, particularly with regard to EuVECA and special AIFs,
WM 2020, 1009 (together with Lennart Lorenz and Joel El-Qalqili) [in German] - The (non-)applicability of the KAGB in practice-relevant special constellations – holding companies and employee participation systems,
BKR 2019, 386 (together with Lennart Lorenz) [in German] - The income tax distinction between commercial operations and asset management for investments in crypto tokens,
FR 2019, 393 (together with Dr. Julian Albrecht) [in German] - Compliance and commercial criminal law from a legal theory perspective,
ZWH 2015, 380 [in German]
