Asim Arshad

I work with a broad range of clients, including individuals, high net worth clients, crypto investors, founders, businesses, institutions and professional advisers.

For individuals, I often act for clients who’ve experienced crypto fraud, theft or misappropriation, or where they are seeking to recover lost or stolen cryptoassets. I also advise clients who have built significant wealth through cryptoassets and want to use the fiat proceeds of those funds within the traditional financial system, including for property purchases.

For businesses and institutions, I advise on disputes and regulatory issues involving cryptoassets, tokens, exchanges, platforms, mining arrangements, and Web3 projects. This can include disputes with commercial counterparties, issues arising from token projects, compliance concerns, account restrictions, and questions about how cryptoassets interact with existing legal and regulatory obligations.

I also work closely with colleagues across other practice areas where cryptoassets are relevant to a wider matter, including:

• Family disputes
• Private client
• Estate planning
• Real estate transactions
• Financial crime
• Regulatory investigations.

I recently acted for a client who was the victim of a significant crypto fraud involving the loss of approximately 48 bitcoin (worth around £1.2m at the time). I coordinated urgent tracing and recovery steps, including disclosure and freezing strategies against exchanges and other parties. The client ultimately obtained judgment for more than £4 million, reflecting the increase in value of bitcoin, and significant sums have been recovered to date.

I also regularly advise clients in relation to issues with crypto exchange account restriction, freezes and asset loss. I acted for a client who mistakenly sent a significant amount of USDT on the ERC-20 network to an ETH deposit address at a centralised exchange. The exchange initially treated the assets as irretrievable and tried to rely on its terms of service. I advised on the legal, technical and contractual issues, including the exchange’s control over the relevant address. Following engagement with the exchange, the matter was successfully resolved with full recovery.

I recently acted for a fund in a dispute arising from a SAFT agreement for the pre-sale purchase of a significant allocation of tokens. Following the launch, the fund received restricted tokens rather than tradable tokens it expected. I advised on the contractual position, tokenomics, and acted for the fund in bringing a claim of misrepresentation as well as other causes of action. This led to a successful negotiated settlement of the full amount paid under the SAFT.

On the non-contentious side, I have advised numerous clients seeking to use crypto-derived wealth for UK property transactions. Since 2021, I have supported clients on substantial property purchases funded in whole or in part by cryptoassets, helping them evidence source of funds and source of wealth, and address concerns raised by banks, lenders and counterparties.

These matters are a good example of how cryptoasset matters often require a combination of legal analysis and technical understanding of the asset class to derive the best results.

The first step is to understand the client’s objective. In some cases, that may be urgent recovery of stolen assets. In others, it may be resolving a commercial dispute, unlocking restricted funds, completing a property transaction, or managing regulatory risk.

In cryptoasset fraud and recovery matters, speed is often critical. I work with clients to identify what has happened, preserve key evidence, and assess what urgent legal steps and remedies may be available. Depending on the case, this may include seeking disclosure from an exchange, applying for freezing orders or proprietary injunctions, or coordinating action across multiple jurisdictions.

In commercial and regulatory matters, I focus on building a clear factual picture at an early stage. Crypto disputes often involve a mixture of legal, technical, commercial and reputational issues, so it’s important to identify the real pressure points quickly. I work with clients to develop a strategy that is practical, proportionate and aligned with their commercial objectives.

For clients using crypto wealth in property transactions or other traditional financial settings, the aim is to create a clear evidential narrative which details the client’s on-ramp into crypto, their activities within the crypto ecosystem, and the particular wealth generation events their portfolio was subject to, all the way through to their off-ramp back into fiat. The goal is to remove technical jargon and explain in plain terms how crypto-derived wealth has been generated in a way that banks, conveyancers, lenders and other counterparties can easily understand.

The first meeting is an opportunity for me to understand the issues, identify your objectives, and work out the immediate next steps.

The meeting can take place by video call, telephone or in person, depending on your preference and urgency of the matter. After the first meeting, I will provide a clear view on the available options, the recommended next steps, and any urgent action required.

My aim is for you to leave the first meeting with a clearer understanding of your position, the practical options available to you, and the strategy most likely to help you achieve your objective.