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Daniel C. Isaacs

Partner
Daniel C. Isaacs's headshot
Daniel C. Isaacs Partner

Daniel Isaacs focuses his practice on regulatory enforcement, regulatory advice and product counsel, investigations, litigation and arbitration relating to securities, cryptocurrency and digital assets, commodities, futures and derivatives, and structured finance.

Daniel regularly advises U.S. and foreign companies on blockchain and cryptocurrency law relating to litigation and regulatory risk issues. Additionally, he defends and advises companies and individuals in investigations and enforcement actions conducted by governmental or self-regulatory agencies, including the SEC, CFTC, Department of Justice, FINRA and state attorneys general and securities regulators, among others.
As part of his litigation practice, Daniel defends clients, including securities issuers, trading companies, cryptocurrency companies, banks, hedge funds, private equity funds and individuals in a variety of commercial, financial and securities disputes. Daniel regularly practices in federal and state courts and before various arbitration tribunals. He has also litigated appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, Second Circuit Court of Appeals, NY Court of Appeals, and NY Appellate Division. 

Daniel is a thought leader in the DAO and cryptocurrency space, writing frequently on legal developments in the sector. His articles have appeared in CoinDesk, Bloomberg Law and Law360, among other publications. Daniel filed an Amicus Brief, covered widely in the press, on behalf of client The Blockchain Association in the landmark SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc., et al. litigation, which detailed how a ruling in the Ripple case could have negative consequences for the digital asset and blockchain industry at large. He is also a co-author of the MoCo Cryptocurrency Litigation Tracker.

Prior to joining Morrison Cohen in 2015, Daniel was an associate at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP.

Experience

Regulatory Enforcement Defense:

  • Counsel for dozens of Web3 development companies and foundations in non-public SEC investigations, including several through a Wells process, which concluded with no enforcement action
  • Counsel for Genesis Global Capital, LLC in SEC enforcement action in federal district court relating to lending and borrowing activity
  • Counsel for a non-custodial wallet application developer in SEC Wells process
  • Counsel for a company offering AI-based financial and market research software in an SEC investigation
  • Counsel for several cryptocurrency issuers (in the United States and abroad) in various SEC investigations regarding token issuance
  • Counsel for several individual software developers in connection with the SEC’s “Eth 2.0” investigation
  • Counsel for a software company and its developers in a landmark investigation and settlement with the CFTC
  • Counsel for a software company in a CFTC investigation relating to leverage-bearing tokens (obtained letter of non-enforcement)
  • Counsel for a digital payments company in a New York State Attorney General investigation
  • Counsel for a decentralized exchange’s foundation in a New York State Martin Act investigation
  • Counsel for a crypto-focused investment fund in New York State Martin Act and SEC investigations
  • Counsel for several Web3 and blockchain companies in New York State Martin Act investigations
  • Counsel for DeFi software developers in investigations by Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington State and Washington, D.C.
  • Counsel for a cryptocurrency lender in a Texas investigation into money transmission issues
  • Counsel for multiple cryptocurrency companies in law enforcement investigations of other parties’ alleged criminal activity
  • Represented an Israeli telecommunications company and its officers in connection with an SEC investigation and litigation

Regulatory Advice and Product Counsel:

  • Counsel for myriad DeFi protocols, exchanges, projects, DAOs, institutional traders, non-custodial wallet application companies, token issuers and institutional crypto liquidity providers on SEC, CFTC, FinCEN and state regulations
  • Counsel for the Washington Nationals baseball team on regulatory aspects of a sponsorship deal involving a cryptocurrency platform
  • Counsel for several major DeFi protocol “grants programs” on structuring and regulatory issues
  • Counsel for several major foundation companies supporting DeFi communities on structuring and regulatory issues
  • Counsel for various investors on regulatory diligence on cryptocurrency and blockchain aspects of significant investments
  • Counsel for several foreign cryptocurrency exchanges on United States regulatory matters
  • Counsel for a gaming company on the regulatory risks associated with its distribution of native gaming token
  • Counsel for investment firms on SEC regulations related to commercial lending and borrowing activity

Litigation: 

  • Counsel for bZeroX and its founders in a class action alleging negligence after a hack
  • Counsel for Wintermute Trading in a class action pertaining to Celsius Networks
  • Counsel for Galaxy Digital Capital Management, L.P. in a putative class action in the Northern District of California pertaining to a Galaxy portfolio company’s online video game business
  • Counsel for Compound Labs in a federal district court case alleging patent infringement
  • Counsel for a digital asset mining consultant in litigation concerning cryptocurrency mining venture and the ownership of disputed mining rigs

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Litigation - Securities, 2025 edition
  • Thomson Reuters' Super Lawyers, New York Metro Rising Stars list in Business Litigation and Securities Litigation, 2020

News & Publications

Referenced

Daniel C. Isaacs's headshot

Practices

Sectors

Education

  • Brooklyn Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, Journal of Law and Policy, Moot Court Honor Society
  • Binghamton University, B.A., cum laude

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Media & Insights