Alan Cohn

Partner

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Areas of Work

Financial Innovation & Regulation, Digital Assets and Decentralized Finance, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, Banking

Overview

Alan Cohn counsels clients on a range of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital asset-related issues, from regulatory best practices for cryptocurrency companies to legal issues associated with novel uses of blockchain technology. Alan leads Steptoe's Financial Innovation and Regulation practice and co-leads Steptoe's Blockchain & Cryptocurrency practice, which he co-founded in 2016. Prior to joining Steptoe, Alan served as an assistant secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security.

Alan represents a variety of different types of entities focusing on blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital assets, including cryptocurrency trading platforms, investment funds, and startups developing new blockchain protocols. He also advises financial institutions interested in exploring potential applications of digital asset and blockchain technology. Additionally, Alan serves as counsel to the Blockchain Alliance, a public-private forum established by a broad coalition of companies and organizations to help combat criminal activity on the blockchain. Alan is ranked among the top US lawyers in Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies by Chambers USA (2019-2025), where he is noted for his "tremendous depth of expertise in regulatory issues facing blockchain platforms and cryptocurrencies." He is also recognized as an MVP in FinTech by Law360 (2019), a trailblazer in both Cryptocurrency, Blockchain & FinTech (2018) and Cybersecurity (2017) by National Law Journal and as a Next Generation Lawyer in Cyber Law by The Legal 500 (2017-2019). Alan brings a unique perspective, focusing on the intersection of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology with cybersecurity and national security.

Before joining Steptoe, Alan served as a career official in senior policy positions at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for almost a decade, during both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Secretary for Strategy, Planning, Analysis & Risk and second-in-charge overall of the DHS Office of Policy during the second term of the Obama Administration. Among a variety of responsibilities, Alan established the cyber policy office within the DHS Office of Policy, represented DHS on the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) and related national security review processes for foreign investments, and architected and helped implement DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson's Unity of Effort Initiative, a major corporate-level DHS management reform effort. Alan also participated in and helped run a variety of scenario planning and tabletop exercise activities at DHS.

District of Columbia
Maryland

J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1997, cum laude
A.B., Columbia University, 1993, History and Political Science

Areas of Work

Representative Matters

Advising global cryptocurrency exchanges on legal and regulatory issues.
Serving as cryptocurrency and crypto-asset regulatory counsel to investors and investment funds.
Advising blockchain companies on steps to remediate pre-sales of cryptographic tokens.
Advising leading early-stage cryptocurrency and crypto-asset companies on legal, regulatory, and policy matters.

Speaking Engagements

Digital Assets – Private Stablecoin/GENIUS – What’s Next?, ETA Transact Tech, Electronic Transactions Association, October 16, 2025
Panelist, "Book signing & Fireside chat with Michelle Ann Gitlitz (Author of Reimagining Payments: The Business Case for Digital Currencies)," Steptoe and The Digital Dollar Project event, June 6, 2024
"From Constraints to Catalysts: Regulation’s Role in Blockchain Innovation," GBBC’s 7^th Annual Blockchain Central Davos, January 17, 2024
"Cryptocurrency Fraud: What Banking Business, and Securities Lawyers Need to Know," ALI CLE Webinar, September 29, 2022
"White House Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets," Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) Blockchain Central UNGA, New York City, September 20, 2022
Moderator, "Regulatory and Enforcement Panel," Web3 Summit hosted by American University's Kogod School of Business, September 14, 2022
"NFTs for Retailers: A world of promise and peril," myLawCLE Webinar, March 11, 2022
"Navigating the Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework from US Department of Justice and Regulators – Domestically and Abroad," Lexology Webinar, April 8, 2021
Moderator, "The Great Crypto Transition: FinCEN, Gamestop, The States & More," Chamber of Digital Commerce's Parallel Live, February 25, 2021
Moderator, "GBBC Legal and Regulatory Group Update," Global Blockchain Business Council, February 24, 2021
"Regulation of Emergencies," London School of Economics Center for Risk and Regulation, London, UK, May 23, 2019
"Cyber Great Game: The US, the EU, Russia, China and Power Politics of Internet Security," and "Finance, Fraud, Cryptocurrencies and Next Frontiers in International Cooperation to Confront Cyber Crime," Aspen Institute Germany CyberSecurityForum, Berlin, Germany, May 16-17, 2019
"Are We Sufficiently Decentralized Yet? A Look at US Token Taxonomy," 2019 Consensus Conference, New York, NY, May 13, 2019
"Borderless—Law and Order in a Decentralized World," and "Race to Regulate: Who Will Build the Winning Paradigm," Global Blockchain Business Council's Blockchain Central, Davos, Switzerland, January 22-23, 2019
Moderator, "Blockchain Technology: Detecting and Solving Cybercrime," HoshoCon Blockchain Security Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 10, 2018
"Without Borders, Who Rules? Arbitration and Legal Recourse in a Decentralized World," Blockchain Central at the 2018 Concordia Summit, New York, NY, September 24, 2018
Moderator, "Best Practices for Tax Treatment of Digital Currencies," Accounting Blockchain Coalition Blockchain, Accounting, Audit & Tax Conference, New York, NY, May 17, 2018
"Blockchain and Supply Chain: Navigating the Choppy Legal Waters," Consensus 2018, New York, NY, May 15, 2018
"The Four Regulatory Lenses of Cryptocurrency and Crypto-Tokens," Policy Committee, Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, Bermuda, March 13, 2018
Moderator, "The New Barons of Cyberspace: ICO Creators and Ransomware Authors," SXSW, Austin, TX, March 9, 2018
Moderator, "Keeping Track: Blockchain & Identity," Global Blockchain Business Council's Blockchain Central, Davos, Switzerland, January 26, 2018
Moderator, "Securing Our Common Future in Cyberspace," World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, January 23-25, 2018
Moderator, Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force Briefing: Blockchain 101, Washington, DC, November 8, 2017
"Blockchain, Anti-Money Laundering, and Compliance," The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), Singapore, July 5, 2017
"Public Private Cooperation: Blockchain and the Blockchain Alliance," Ontario Securities Commission Enforcement Conference, Ontario, Canada, May 31, 2017
Moderator, "Fighting Cybercrime Using the Blockchain," RSA Conference 2017, San Francisco, CA, February 17, 2017
"Emerging Technologies—A Double-Edged Sword," World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017, Davos, Switzerland, January 17-20, 2017
Participant, Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders on Agile Governance for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017, Davos, Switzerland, January 17-20, 2017
"Balancing Blockchain Public Policy: Thoughtful Regulation Without Stifling Innovation," Money20/20, Las Vegas, NV, October 23, 2016
"The Blockchain Alliance," Europol 3rd Annual Virtual Currency Conference, The Hague, Netherlands, July 14, 2016
Moderator, "The Hacked World Order" (interview with author Adam Segal), Aspen Ideas Festival. July 1, 2016
"Blockchain and Security," Second Annual Blockchain Summit, Necker Island, British Virgin Islands, June 6, 2016

News & Publications

Client Alerts

December 19, 2025

By: Alan Cohn, Alexandra C. Scheibe, Benjamin M. Saul, Evan T. Abrams, Juliana Gerrick, Neel K. Chopra

Press Releases

December 5, 2025

Client Alerts

October 1, 2025

By: Alan Cohn, Ryan Hayden, Marlon Paz, Alexandra C. Scheibe

Press Releases

September 4, 2025

Blockchain Blog

August 25, 2025

By: Evan T. Abrams, Alan Cohn

Blockchain Blog

August 22, 2025

By: Evan T. Abrams, Marlon Paz, Alan Cohn

Client Alerts

July 22, 2025

By: Alan Cohn, Benjamin M. Saul, Evan T. Abrams, Tarrian L. Ellis

Blockchain Blog

July 22, 2025

By: Alan Cohn, Benjamin M. Saul, Evan T. Abrams, Tarrian L. Ellis

Blockchain Blog

July 21, 2025

By: Marlon Paz, Jack R. Hayes, Evan T. Abrams, Christopher R. Conte, Alan Cohn, Fernando Q. Merino

Stepwise Risk Outlook

January 9, 2025

View All

Resources

Financial Services Group Advisory

March 1, 2021

By: Alan Cohn, Christopher R. Conte, Scott D. Fisher, Scott A. Sinder

Client Alerts

January 31, 2018

By: Alan Cohn

Client Alerts

July 31, 2017

By: Jack R. Hayes, Edward J. Krauland, Jason M. Weinstein, Alan Cohn

Client Alerts

January 7, 2016

By: Edward J. Krauland, Alan Cohn

Everything You Need to Know

Events

Webinars

A Virtual Fireside Chat with Michelle Kallen

November 18, 2025

Speakers: Michelle Kallen, Alan Cohn

Webinars

Steptoe Covers the Election and Its Impact on You

December 2, 2020

Speakers: Leslie A. Belcher, Alan Cohn

Webinars

Steptoe Covers the Election and Its Impact on You

November 12, 2020

Speaker: Alan Cohn

Seminars & Events

Tax Implications Workshop

March 1, 2018

Speakers: Jason M. Weinstein, Lisa M. Zarlenga, Alan Cohn, John Cobb

Harvard Club of New York City
35 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036

Seminars & Events

A co-sponsored event with Coin Center

September 12, 2017

Speakers: John Cobb, Alan Cohn, Aaron P. Nocjar, Jason M. Weinstein, Lisa M. Zarlenga

Steptoe
1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Webinars

October 22, 2015

Speakers: Alan Cohn, Jason M. Weinstein

Noteworthy

Chambers FinTech USA, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies (2019-2025)
Legal 500 US, Next Generation Lawyer: Media, Technology & Telecoms: Cyber Law, including Data Protection and Privacy (2017-2019)
Legal 500 US, Media, Technology & Telecoms: Cyber Law, including Data Protection and Privacy (2017, 2019)
Legal 500 US, Media, Technology & Telecoms: Telecoms & Broadcast, Regulatory (2016)
Legal 500 US, Media, Technology & Telecoms: Telecoms & Broadcast, Transactional (2016)
Who's Who Legal, Fintech & Blockchain – Blockchain (2023)
Law360, Fintech "MVP" (2019)
National Law Journal, "Trailblazers in Cryptocurrency, Blockchain & FinTech" (2018)
National Law Journal, "Trailblazers in Cybersecurity" (2017)

Professional Affiliations

Co-Chair, Global Future Council on Cybersecurity (2016-2018) and Member, Cybercrime Experts Network, World Economic Forum
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University Law Center; Fellow, Georgetown Law Center on National Security and the Law; and Advisory Board Member, Georgetown Cyber Security Law Institute