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| Place of birth | California, U.S. |
| Place of residence | New York, U.S. |
| Category | Law & Politics |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley and University of Notre Dame Law School |
| Known for | Shaping the intersection of blockchain, policy and law |
Biography:
Marco Santori is an attorney who had previously been a partner at Cooley LLP. In February 2018, Santori left Cooley LLP to become the president and chief legal officer of Blockchain.com, a long-time client and a well-known wallet startup in the industry. Santori is known in the legal world as the developer of the Simple Agreement for Future Tokens, a legal framework intended to make initial coin offerings compliant with regulations without extensive legal filings.
In 2013, he became the chairman of the regulatory affairs committee at the Bitcoin Foundation, after previously representing the trade group during the New York State Department of Financial Services’ BitLicense hearings. Santori was also a key figure in shaping Delaware’s blockchain strategy.
Marco Santori's 2019:
Throughout 2019, Santori commented frequently on the changing regulatory landscape of blockchain and cryptocurrency ventures. In March, Santori clarified a response by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporate Finance head, William Hinman, who said that Ethereum in its current state would not qualify as a security within existing regulatory frameworks. Santori highlighted the difference between present-day Ethereum and the initial launch of the network as the key distinction to take into account when analyzing the weight of Hinman's statement.
When the New York State Department of Financial Services announced new proposals to revisit the BitLicense to make it more accommodating for additional crypto assets within existing money transmission laws, Santori took to Twitter to provide an analysis of the proposals, claiming that these changes to one of the most difficult regulatory domains indicate a step in the right direction for crypto asset business regulation.
What Cointelegraph expects for 2020:
With the rapidly changing domains of law, policy and technology, 2020 is looking to be a year of clarity and innovation. Whether it's the evolution and maturation of crypto asset regulation for investors and businesses or the launch of blockchain-based LLCs, we expect the "Dean of Digital Currency Lawyers" will provide insight to help make sense of it all.