Counsel for companies building new markets where crypto, artificial intelligence and new regulation meet.
Book a ConsultationCrystal Venning is an emerging technology lawyer for companies building new markets where crypto, artificial intelligence and new regulation meet. From offices in Houston and New York, the firm advises stablecoin issuers, tokenization platforms and founders launching new financial products.
New technology law rarely arrives all at once, and several regimes are landing together. The GENIUS Act takes effect by January 18, 2027. The SEC has proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, with comments due October 20, 2026. New York’s UCC Article 12, in force since June 3, 2026, sets control rules for many crypto assets.
Each creates markets before it creates precedent. We help clients launch in that window with a compliance plan in place before the first transaction. Crystal also works as a stablecoin lawyer for issuers and platforms preparing for GENIUS Act licensing.
Lenders now take GPUs as collateral, and some record that collateral on-chain as tokenized receipts funded by stablecoin lending pools. We advise on liens, the securities status of receipt and pool tokens, and SPV structure. GPU-backed loans and tokenized GPU receipts →
Coinbase and Better now offer mortgages backed by pledged bitcoin, and the senior notes of a bitcoin-backed ABS have been rated investment grade. We advise on state licensing, California’s DFAL, collateral control and liquidation terms. Crypto-backed mortgage and lending counsel →
AI agents now pay for data and services in stablecoins over protocols such as x402. We advise on money transmission, know-your-agent (KYA) controls, liability for agent-initiated payments and GENIUS Act payment rails. Agentic payments and x402 compliance →
Decentralized physical infrastructure networks pay token rewards for supplying energy, bandwidth or data. We advise on reward design after the SEC staff’s DoubleZero no-action letter and on Texas grid rules. DePIN token rewards and compliance →
Major payroll platforms added stablecoin payouts in 2026. We advise employers and platforms on federal and state wage-payment law, W-2 and 1099 reporting, and choosing stablecoins that will meet GENIUS Act standards. Stablecoin payroll compliance →
A new federal hemp definition takes effect December 11, 2026, and Square stops allowing hemp and CBD product sales after October 15. Our informational guide explains the new limits and the payment-compliance questions to ask. Hemp payment compliance guide →
| Law or rule | What it changes | Status (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| GENIUS Act | Federal licensing for payment stablecoin issuers | Effective by Jan 18, 2027 |
| SEC Regulation Crypto Assets (proposed) | Offering exemptions for crypto assets up to $5M, $20M and $75M | Comments due Oct 20, 2026 |
| New York UCC Article 12 | Control and priority rules for controllable electronic records | In force since Jun 3, 2026 |
| California Digital Financial Assets Law | State licensing for digital asset businesses | License, or a completed application filed by Jul 1, 2026, required since that date |
| Texas SB 2420 (App Store Accountability Act) | Age verification duties for app stores and developers | Enforceable; the Supreme Court declined to lift the Fifth Circuit’s stay on Jul 6, 2026 |
| Federal hemp redefinition (Pub. L. 119-37) | Total-THC standard and a 0.4 mg per container cap | Effective Dec 11, 2026 |
| CLARITY Act | Market structure for digital assets | Stalled after a failed Senate cloture vote, Sep 15, 2026 |
Texas now requires app-store age checks. Utah’s and Louisiana’s app-store laws take effect May 6, 2027 and July 1, 2027, and California’s age-signal law starts January 1, 2027. Zero-knowledge proofs can confirm age without storing an ID. Whether that satisfies each statute is an open question for developers and identity vendors.
The SEC’s proposal would create a $5 million startup exemption filed on Form NOR, with larger tiers filed on Form 1-CRYPTO. Founders can plan a launch that works under current rules and can move into the new exemptions if they are adopted. See our cryptocurrency and tokenization practice.
The SEC’s September 2026 order for ARK Venture Fund allowed tokenized share classes for that fund and future ARK-advised interval and tender-offer funds. Other sponsors need relief of their own. We help emerging managers decide whether to tokenize a fund or private credit vehicle.
Federal appeals courts are split on whether CFTC-regulated event contracts override state gaming law. We advise founders asking how to start a prediction market or become an introducing broker.
Researchers and creators are tokenizing patents and royalties. Under the SEC’s March 2026 interpretive release, tokens that give holders royalty rights fall outside its non-security categories and are likely securities. A creator royalty alone does not make an NFT a security. Structure matters from day one.
Georgia’s SB 69 bars litigation funders from securitizing or assigning funding agreements, which collides with tokenized litigation funding. We advise on whether, and where, such structures can work.
Crystal Venning, an emerging technology lawyer, is the founding attorney of Crystal Venning Law PLLC, with offices at 440 Louisiana Street, Suite 900, Houston, Texas, and in New York. She is admitted in New York, Texas and Georgia. Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Attorney advertising. This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Last reviewed October 2026.
An emerging technology lawyer advises companies whose products arrive before the rules are settled. In crypto and AI, that means reading new statutes and proposed rules and finding where a product fits. We then structure the product to work under today’s rules and adapt as final rules arrive.
Not here. Our emerging markets practice covers new markets created by technology and new law, such as stablecoin payments, tokenized collateral, DePIN networks and AI agent payments. It is not a developing-country investment practice.
The GENIUS Act takes effect on the earlier of January 18, 2027, or 120 days after regulators issue final rules. No final rules came early enough to move that date, so January 18, 2027 is the date to plan for.
The GENIUS Act, enacted July 18, 2025, regulates payment stablecoin issuers. The CLARITY Act would set market-structure rules for other digital assets, but it stalled after a failed Senate cloture vote on September 15, 2026. Until Congress acts, the SEC and CFTC are filling the gap through rulemaking.
The Act licenses issuers of payment stablecoins. Beginning July 18, 2028, digital asset service providers generally may not offer payment stablecoins in the U.S. unless a permitted issuer issued them. Companies that accept or pay in stablecoins should choose rails that will qualify.
Yes. Crystal Venning is admitted in New York, Texas and Georgia, with offices in Houston and New York. Much of this work turns on federal law. For state-law questions in other states, we work with local counsel.
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