#58: Company Formation for Web3 Startups & DAOs with Han Verstraete from Otonomos

Anyone who decides to build a project in web3 involuntarily accepts to have to surmount heaps of legal challenges, to be legally compliant.

Many web3 businesses are borderless and this places a big regulatory burden, especially for those in their very early days.

Whether you are a centralized or decentralized project in web3, planning to issue tokens, finding the appropriate legal structure for your DAO, and understanding the legal implications of distributing tokens to employees, speaking with an experienced web3 legal specialist might save you hours and money in the long term.

You don’t want to be losing sleep thinking “Are we allowed to do that” or “Have we overlooked something in our legal structure”

To help us better understand how to define the legal strategy for your web3 startup and DAO, I spoke with Han Verstraete, the CEO & Founder of Otonomos.

Since 2015, Otonomos has helped builders and investors in crypto form and maintain their legal entities in all major jurisdictions around the world.

Topics covered;

• Episode intro (00:48)
• Han’s background and story founding Otonomos (2:34)
• What is a Token SPV (5:45)
• VASP jurisdictions to issue tokens (8:59)
• When to choose BVI, Cayman Islands, Switzerland (12:20)
• Legal structures for DAOs (15:27)
• Best jurisdictions for DAOs (23:58)
• Thanks to our sponsor Web3Finance Club (29:09)
• Do you even need a bank? (30:57)
• Framework for legal structure for web3 startups (38:00)
• Overview of Otonomos (43:14)
• OtoCo & creating an on-chain company (47:27)
• Getting started with OtoCo (52:46)
• Adoption of crypto in 2024 (53:56)
• Closing thoughts (58:39)
• How to reach out to Han (01:01:26)

Follow The Accountant Quits:

LinkedIN: linkedin.com/company/the-accountant-quits

Twitter: twitter.com/accountantquits

Follow Han Verstraete:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hanverstraete

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanverstraete/

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Website

For show notes and past guests, please visit theaccountantquits.com/podcast/