John Bassilios

Practice Areas

John has broad experience in financial services, funds management, blockchain, corporate and commercial law, with a particular emphasis on funds management related matters. John is one of Australia's leading Blockchain/crypto lawyers and is a Director on the board of Blockchain Australia.

John has acted for a wide range of financial services providers (both start-ups and established industry providers), including retail and wholesale fund managers, investment advisers, financial planners, stockbrokers, IDPS operators, managed discretionary account providers and consumer credit providers. He has advised financial services providers on all aspects of managed investments schemes, AFSL and ACL licensing, disclosure requirements, and ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements.

John also has extensive experience in advising financial services industry participants in relation to the establishment and development of various financial products, as well as the preparation of disclosure documents such as financial services guides, product disclosure statements and information memoranda.

John also has significant experience in a broad range general corporate commercial matters; from company establishment, shareholder agreements, mergers and acquisition and ASX listings.

John has a keen interest in Blockchain/crypto related matters and gained significant experience advising on, and establishing, crypto currency funds, reviewing Whitepapers for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and token sales and advising on the establishment of cryptocurrency exchanges including preparing AML/CTF Programs and terms of use and advising on conducting Security Token Offerings (STOs) in Australia.

John has also written the Australian chapter of the Lexology Getting The Deal Through Fintech 2023 publication. He covers issues such as financial regulation, financial crime, distributed ledger technology, crypto assets, and much more.

Publications

https://hallandwilcox.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023_Fintech_Australia_John_B_Lexology.pdf?pdf=johns-online-cv

https://hallandwilcox.com.au/thinking/modernising-the-payments-regulatory-framework-to-address-emerging-risks-draft-legislation-released/

https://hallandwilcox.com.au/thinking/crypto-regulation-in-australia-where-are-we-now-and-where-are-we-headed/

https://hallandwilcox.com.au/thinking/landmark-win-for-ripple-labs-in-us-sec-case-over-xrp-cryptocurrency/

https://hallandwilcox.com.au/thinking/payments-system-modernisation-licensing-defining-payment-functions/

Career

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-bassilios-b0a2802/

Work Highlights

• Hall & Wilcox advised Islamic Bank Australia (IBA) on becoming the first Islamic bank licensed in Australia. The bank has been granted its restricted ADI (authorised deposit taking institution) licence, AFSL (Australian financial services licence) and ACL (Australian credit licence), and will operate as a fintech.

• Hall & Wilcox has advised Fidira on the establishment of a first of its kind digital currency exchange which onboards clients through the purchase of a gift card through retail outlets and online stores.

• Futu Securities is a NYSE-listed securities brokerage based out of China. Hall & Wilcox assisted in setting up their Australian stock brokerage business and crypto currency exchange business. This included:

o purchasing an Australian financial services licence (AFSL);

o advising on regulatory structure for payments and dealer services in Australia;

o assisting with setting up their entire suite of operations policies including compliance policies;

o assisting with the onboarding of key Australian operations staff;

o preparing an AML/CTF Program and registering with AUSTRAC; and

o and assisting with the communications to regulators in relation their general business requirements.

• Sire Custodians is the leading supplier of syndicate documentation and management consultancy services to the Australian thoroughbred industry, and operates a number of registered and unregistered managed investment schemes in relation to making investments in racing and breeding horses. Hall & Wilcox acted for Sire Custodians Ltd in the establishment of Australia’s first tokenised registered managed investment scheme in which investors can purchase micro-shares in horses, using blockchain technology. Sire Custodians is the trustee and responsible entity of the scheme.

• We are currently working with Mezfi Pty Ltd to establish a registered managed investment scheme the units for which will be tokenised and held in a digital wallet by investors. The scheme will be a fund of funds and will invest in third party mezzanine finance lending funds. The fund will also accept investment by payment in USDT (a USD denominated stablecoin) and payment out to investors also using USDT.

• Hall & Wilcox acted for Minke in relation to the establishment of its business, being the provider of a digital decentralised finance wallet.