Washington, D.C.
Clients turn to Ignacio when they are engaging with regulators and self-regulatory organizations, structuring new products or platforms or developing business models across areas such as digital assets, blockchain, tokenization and artificial intelligence. He advises broker-dealers, investment advisers, fintech and wealthtech companies, digital asset platforms, securities exchanges, alternative trading systems, banks and other domestic and foreign market participants.
Drawing on his experience as a special counsel in the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, Ignacio brings a regulator’s perspective to high-stakes regulatory and market structure questions. He regularly represents clients before the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, NFA and MSRB in seeking no-action relief, interpretive guidance and exemptions, and advises on enforcement matters and regulatory examinations. He also partners with business, legal and product teams to design platform architecture, operational frameworks and compliance programs that align with applicable securities and commodities laws while supporting commercial objectives.
Ignacio’s practice spans the full lifecycle of financial products and platforms, from initial structuring and regulatory strategy through launch and ongoing operations. He works with both established financial institutions and emerging companies to navigate registration, licensing and compliance considerations, and to develop scalable, regulatorily sound business models. His work includes advising on the design and operation of robo-advisers, neobrokers, fractional share platforms and other technology-driven financial services, as well as drafting and negotiating clearing, custody, trading and platform agreements.
He is particularly active at the intersection of traditional financial regulation and emerging technologies, advising clients on the regulatory treatment of digital assets, tokenized securities and real-world assets, stablecoins and crypto custody arrangements, as well as the use of AI in trading, portfolio management and compliance functions. His work often involves bridging existing securities and commodities frameworks with novel product structures, market infrastructure and cross-border strategies.
Ignacio also advises investment advisers, fund managers and other market participants on regulatory status, compliance and structuring considerations, including SEC registration, advisory agreements and Form ADV disclosures. He counsels clients on the regulatory treatment of futures, perpetual contracts and other instruments that may implicate both securities and commodities regimes, and advises on issues affecting structured products and municipal securities, including Volcker Rule compliance and municipal advisor considerations.