Joey Garcia

Consultant, Fintech Ambassador

Meet Joey's team

Joey has represented Gibraltar on the global playing field as the jurisdiction continues to shape innovation and regulation in the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and crypto space. He heads the Fintech team at ISOLAS LLP and was instrumental in the implementation of Gibraltar’s regulatory framework, having co-chaired the small working group that approached Government and the Regulator in relation to the same. He worked closely with the Government of Gibraltar and the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission in shaping the regulatory legislation for the use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) as a transfer or storage of value mechanism.

Joey has not only been influential in Gibraltar in this industry but he has also quickly developed a strong international profile in the space. He is a member of the Wharton Reg@Tech initiative at the University of Pennsylvania where he collaborates with lawyers, academics and regulators from around the world on discussions surrounding the decentralised finance landscape, relationships with more traditional financial systems and emerging regulatory frameworks.

Joey also participates in the United Nations ODC cryptocurrencies experts’ in Singapore where he had discussions with regulators and law enforcement agencies from around the world and contributed to their manual. He also moderated the discussions in trading platforms and defi regulatory developments globally.

More recently, Joey participated in a panel at the European Blockchain Convention on the global legal and regulatory landscape of DLT.

Since the introduction of DLT licences in Gibraltar on 1st January 2018, ISOLAS FinTech Team led by Joey has worked on the majority of applications involving key international players. Recent work has included supporting Coinfloor, which received the very first DLT licence in Gibraltar, and Huobi and LMAX (an FCA regulated firm), obtaining their licenses. He also assisted RSK on their protocol layer developments, the prediction market platform Gnosis, Xapo on its e-money license and now sits on the boards of Xapo Bank and Xapo VASP and RSK/IOV on the protocol layer.

He also contributes to various initiatives and publications around the world having co-authored a number of pieces.

Additionally, Joey was extensively involved in the set up and ongoing operation of the Kusuma Trust (Gibraltar), a large charitable organisation, as a Trustee, and was one of the founders of the Gibraltar Philanthropy Forum.

Joey Garcia, was instrumental in the implementation of Gibraltar’s regulatory framework, co-chairing the Government’s working group on blockchain for three years, specifically established to develop the infrastructure to accommodate a specific DLT regulatory framework in Gibraltar and for its use as a transfer or storage of value mechanism.

Joey acted for the first licensee under the new DLT regulatory framework, implemented in January 2017 and continues to act for a large section of licensees/applicants. The firm is heavily involved in industry groups dedicated to enhancing and developing the regulatory and commercial framework to support DLT companies.

Joey is the co-chairman of the Gibraltar Association for New Technologies (GANT) an association comprised of local experts and companies from the blockchain and crypto space and forms part of the subcommittee established to review new legislation and is appointed the lecturer for legal students at the Gibraltar University on blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

Joey is also a member and contributor to the Stablecoin Foundation and working group, as well as being a member of the Digital Chamber of Commerce in Washington where he co-authored a segment of their recent report ‘Understanding Digital Tokens, market overview and guidelines for policymakers and practitioners’. He is also a lecturer for legal students at the Gibraltar University on blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

Joey contribute’s to leading industry publications such as the first book published by Global Legal Insights on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency regulation for 2019, the United Nations ODC manual for law enforcement agencies and various other publications.

He is also a founding member of the European think tank (thinkBlocktank) established in Luxembourg, and through this a member of INATBA (International Association for Trusted Blockchain applications) where he has contributed to the working groups on blockchain governance and finance.

He has also spoken at events, including the Korean Blockchain Week and Legal Hackers event in Seoul on building sustainable governance for blockchain technology, the PWC Global Blockchain and Law event organised in Zurich and the European Blockchain Conventions in Copenhagen and Barcelona, the LaBitConf event with a focus on South America in Chile as well as various events in Beijing organised by the Huobi group.

Joey served as Chairman of the Gibraltar Funds & Investments Association (GFIA) for the years 2014-2016 and is ranked by Chambers and Partners and IFLR and acknowledged as being ‘a highly acclaimed funds expert.’

He has been involved with the Gibraltar Finance Centre as a moderator and speaker on various seminar programs and has contributed to a number of Hedge Fund publications, including the Reuters European Reference series on Hedge Funds.

Joey also sits on the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission’s MiFID II working group, and previously on the AIFMD working group. He was the author of the Corporate Governance Code for Gibraltar Collective Investment Schemes and worked on a secondment within the Financial Services Commission in relation to AIFMD related technical issues.

He is licensed by the Financial Services Commission to act as an Experienced Investor Fund Director and Company Manager.

Joey currently forms part of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (FSC) working group on MiFID II examining the implementation of MiFID II and other post Brexit implications for Gibraltar.

He was also involved in the preparation of the regulatory guidelines for the establishment of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Insurance Companies (Special Purpose Vehicles) Regulations.

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Accreditations

  • ‘He is 1 of only 12 global legal blockchain experts.’

    Chambers & Partners

  • ‘He provides an excellent level of service and has demonstrated a deep understanding of legal and commercial matters.’

    Irina Kornides, CEO, KUSUMA TRUST,

  • ‘Joey’s advice and guidance facilitated GSX achieving its objectives.’

    Nick Cowan, Managing Director at GSX Limited

  • ‘I strongly recommend his work. I have been impressed by his professionalism.’

    Cyril Casanova, Casanova & Associes, Paris.

  • ‘Joey is extremely professional, commercially aware and strongly client-oriented.'

    THE LEGAL 500

Memberships & Background

Memberships

  • Honourable Society of the Inner Temple
  • Council Member of The Gibraltar Law Council
  • Gibraltar Funds & Investment Association
  • The Society of Trustee and Estate Practitioners
  • Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (enrolled)

Background

2022: Consultant ISOLAS LLP
2014: Partner ISOLAS
2011: Senior Associate, ISOLAS
2007: Associate, ISOLAS
2005: Associate, Isola & Isola
2005: Called to the Bar of England and Wales and the Gibraltar Bar

 

Joey Garcia Get in touch

Joey's team: Jonathan Garcia and Stuart Dalmedo