Overview
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery secured “no-action” relief on behalf of its client Turing Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Roll, confirming that Roll does not need a Colorado money transmitter license and paving the way for Roll to immediately launch its social token platform in Colorado. McDermott is spearheading Roll’s nationwide rollout, seeking money transmitter licenses or “no-action” letters across the country.
Roll provides infrastructure to power the next generation of online platforms that enable creators and their communities to own the value they create online by minting unique social tokens.
McDermott argued that Roll’s platform does not require licensure in Colorado and that Roll’s unique social tokens platform does not fit within the statutes governing the state-specific money transmitter regime in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Banking agreed, giving Roll the green light to start accepting fiat and crypto from Coloradans.
“McDermott is peerless in its compliant knowledge of social tokens,” said Bradley Miles, Roll’s co-founder and CEO. “As infrastructure for this new asset class, Roll requires our legal advisors to understand both how social tokens are utilized on Roll and Roll-enabled platforms, and the financial services that we uniquely enable for the category. Colorado is a pivotal opportunity for Roll and the Colorado Division of Banking decision is important for our success. Thanks to Joe Evans and the broader McDermott team for the efforts and we look forward to expanding our relationship.”
Creators often experience reduced revenue as a result of significant costs paid to middlemen, including brokers, centralized content platforms and other entities and persons. Roll solves these problems by allowing creators to own, control, distribute and coordinate the value they create across social medial platforms via branded digital tokens unique to a creator’s online presence. Creators reward their followers by giving them social tokens and can also accept social tokens from their followers in exchange for access to certain exclusive content.
“We are impressed by Colorado’s ongoing support of the crypto industry,” said Joseph (Joe) B. Evans, lead McDermott partner for Roll. “Crypto can cut traditional middlemen out of the equation, allowing entrepreneurs worldwide to efficiently transact. Roll is a perfect example of how crypto can be used to disrupt traditional payment methods—it enables online creators to use their own branded social tokens to transact directly with their followers.”
The McDermott team is led by Joe Evans and includes Daley Epstein, Robert A. Kaylor and Ethan M. Heller.
McDermott’s FinTech and Blockchain team represents clients in all aspects of cryptocurrency law, including disputes and transactions. McDermott has represented clients in high-stakes cryptocurrency litigation and government investigations, innovative transaction structures and regulatory strategy and regularly advises on licensing and regulatory issues, including money transmitter regimes, securities law, commodities law, insurance and tax. McDermott also represents cryptocurrency and blockchain clients in connection with fundraising and investments, funds, novel structured finance transactions and first-of-their-kind platform formation. Additionally, McDermott’s cross-practice group has key persons in virtually all practice areas and jurisdictions who focus primarily or exclusively on the fintech and blockchain industry.
About McDermott
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,200 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
