Charles Russell Speechlys advises Token Bay Capital on launch of the Token Bay Capital II LP

Charles Russell Speechlys has successfully advised Token Bay Capital on the establishment of Token Bay Capital II LP (“Fund II”), a crypto PE/VC fund structured as an ADGM limited partnership.  Token Bay Capital Limited obtained Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to carry out regulated activities in the ADGM, which allows Token Bay to manage both token and equity investments in early-stage crypto start-ups under the FSRA's Venture Capital Fund Manager (VCFM) framework.

Fund II, building on the success of Token Bay Capital I LP (a Hong Kong LPF), is a PE/VC fund that invests in the private equity of companies operating in the Web 3.0/blockchain ecosystem. Fund II’s portfolio may hold a combination of securities of portfolio companies, as well as tokens issued by those same companies.

Fund II is among the first batch of ADGM investment structures managed by a manager regulated under the ADGM’s nascent virtual asset management regime, and also among the first investment funds to directly hold a portfolio of crypto assets.

Gaven Cheong, Partner in the Financial Services Regulation & Funds team at Charles Russell Speechlys, comments:

We are delighted to have acted as International Lead Counsel on the launch of Fund II.  Working closely with our colleagues in London and Dubai, we were able to draw on our international team’s deep-seated experience across crypto asset regulations and UAE corporate and regulatory regimes to continue to be at the forefront of regional crypto developments – in this case, an expansion of virtual asset management initiatives from out of Asia and across to the Middle East.

Lucy Gazmararian, Founder & Managing Partner of Token Bay Capital comments:

It was a pleasure working with Gaven and the wider CRS funds and regulatory teams across London and Dubai on our first foray into the ADGM market.  The level of interest and activity in crypto funds and asset management activity in that part of the world is at an all time high, and we benefited not only from the CRS Hong Kong team’s deep experience and expertise in fund structuring and documentation, but also CRS’s crypto regulatory expertise and local UAE corporate experience, which the Firm was able to deliver seamlessly to allow for a smooth path to launch.

The team was led by Gaven Cheong, supported by Didi Chan and Karen Austin from the Firm’s Financial Services Regulation & Funds team, acting as International Lead Counsel. They worked alongside our Dubai Corporate team, led by Alex Reid and Mo Nawash, to provide advice on ADGM law.