Katten Partners Named Top Crypto Professionals

(CHICAGO) Katten announced today that three partners — Global Chair of the Financial Markets and Funds department Lance A. Zinman, Co-Chair of the Financial Markets and Regulation practice Daniel J. Davis, and Financial Markets Litigation and Enforcement Partner Matthew F. Kluchenek — were named to Citywealth’s list of Top 50 Crypto Professionals.

"This recognition highlights Katten's leadership in shaping the global digital asset markets and regulatory policy, reflecting the firm's integral role in helping define how innovation and compliance coexist in the evolving crypto ecosystem," Zinman said. "Since the inception of cryptocurrency trading, Katten's Financial Markets and Funds and Financial Markets Litigation and Enforcement teams have been at the forefront of digital asset-related law — helping the world's largest crypto players launch products, secure regulatory approvals, resolve enforcement disputes, and navigate US and international frameworks without sacrificing speed and innovation."

The noteworthy list, a global ranking researched and curated by the editorial team at Citywealth, a news and networking platform for the global private wealth industry, underscores the caliber of talent at Katten. The three partners have assumed leadership roles in prominent industry associations, influenced regulatory initiatives and defended clients in government investigations and enforcement proceedings.

The unmatched experience of the group, particularly with Zinman as a pioneer in proprietary trading, Davis as former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) General Counsel and Kluchenek as the former associate general counsel at the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, has contributed to Katten's groundbreaking work in developing novel approaches and handling landmark cases in the digital asset space.

As Global Chair of Katten's internationally recognized Financial Markets and Funds department, Zinman has been instrumental in shaping the industry in which sophisticated market players around the world operate at the intersection of financial services, crypto and regulation. He advises clients who are steering the future of digital assets and leads proprietary trading firms in developing crypto strategies, as well as counsels crypto hedge funds and venture capital funds. He provides strategic counsel on complex business and general regulatory issues related to crypto assets, blockchain technology, offshore crypto trading and emerging digital asset trading ventures, leveraging extensive experience across the swaps markets and advising swap dealers and market participants on the regulatory considerations that increasingly shape both traditional and digital asset trading.

Zinman is a member of Katten's Executive Committee and Board of Directors, as well as the Board of Directors for the MFA (formerly the Managed Funds Association), the trade association for the global alternative asset management industry. He has been recognized by Crain's Chicago Business and named to its 40 Under 40 and Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting and Law lists and by The American Lawyer as a Midwest Trailblazer.

Based in Washington, DC, Davis in his CFTC role participated in the development of cryptocurrency, digital assets and the blockchain industry from the regulator's perspective. As Co-Chair of Katten's Financial Markets and Regulation practice, Davis and his team advise clients on matters related to cryptocurrency, digital assets and blockchain technology and counsel them on regulatory, compliance, transactional and enforcement-related issues. He is highly experienced in helping crypto exchanges, banks and other fintech entities work with distributed ledger technologies.

At the same time, Davis continues to be a leading voice on regulatory initiatives for digital assets. He was one of five witnesses who appeared before the US House Committee on Financial Services in May 2025 for a roundtable discussion on the future of digital assets. Davis has been named a Cryptocurrency/Blockchain/Fintech Trailblazer by the National Law Journal.

Based in Chicago, Kluchenek is a partner in Katten's Financial Markets Litigation and Enforcement practice. His keen understanding of cryptocurrency and financial markets enables him to counsel and advocate effectively for clients facing the most complex regulatory questions or allegations of fraud or noncompliance. He regularly advises clients in connection with regulatory matters, investigations and enforcement actions with respect to the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Kluchenek's prior experience includes high-level legal positions at CME Group, Inc. and a global proprietary trading firm.

Kluchenek focuses his practice specifically on regulatory, compliance and enforcement issues and developments involving crypto assets and derivatives. In particular, he has advised clients on a number of innovative crypto products and structures, including crypto collateral, the launch of crypto perpetuals in the United States, and the launch of hashrate swaps. He has also worked with a number of digital asset companies to secure registrations with the CFTC. Finally, Kluchenek is an adjunct professor at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where he teaches a course titled "The Derivatives Markets and Legal Practice," which covers digital assets.

Recently ranked in the Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies and Crypto-Asset Disputes categories in the Chambers FinTech 2025 guide, Katten's financial services practice is distinguished by its 360-degree platform, designed to give clients a decisive and competitive edge to grow and prosper, even amid regulatory uncertainty. Katten's uniquely holistic approach integrates transactional, regulatory, enforcement and operational counsel provided by an interdisciplinary bench of attorneys across the United States and London, including former senior officials from the SEC, CFTC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) and veterans of global investment banks.