Rachel Epstein

She leverages over a decade of experience at the vanguard of blockchain technology and regulatory strategy and provides elite-tier counsel to institutions navigating the most complex legal and operational risks in the digital asset ecosystem. Rachel’s expertise is a unique synthesis of deep-protocol infrastructure and high-level regulatory compliance, covering MiCA, DORA, GDPR, CCPA, GENIUS and the evolving U.S. oversight landscape.

Prior to joining Kroll, Rachel served as Head of Legal at Legion, where she architected  on-chain capital-raising frameworks and automated compliance protocols for the next generation of digital asset offerings. Before that, she held the title of Associate General Counsel at Matter Labs, where she lead the legal de-risking of product development for ‘ZKsync’ and designing sophisticated on-chain governance structures to navigate the complexities of DAO liability and decentralized security risks. Rachel’s deep expertise in blockchain infrastructure and tokenization models is shaped by her time as Corporate Counsel at Hedera Hashgraph, where she structured a high-value exempt token offering, designed the Hedera Improvement Proposal Process and Hedera Grant Program for the Hedera ecosystem and negotiated enterprise blockchain deals exceeding $125 million. She began her career at ConsenSys, where she provided foundational legal support during the pivotal growth of industry-standard platforms including MetaMask and Infura.

As a recognized leader in government relations and policy, Rachel has been a central figure in shaping the regulatory landscape for the digital asset sector. She has advised on national regulatory strategy, notably working alongside Charles Hoskinson at Input Output Global (IOG) to drive U.S. policy initiatives for Cardano. During this tenure, Rachel managed a comprehensive global engagement program, authoring numerous formal responses to RFIs from government agencies and regulators in the U.S. and UK and played a key role in securing the first-ever congressional testimony by a blockchain founder regarding CFTC oversight of digital assets.

Rachel is a prolific contributor to legal scholarship, notably serving as a co-author of the Cardozo School of Law’s seminal work on the risks of token sale frameworks and the SAFT model. Her commentary on digital asset regulation is also featured in the University of Tennessee Business Law Journal and the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Journal. Beyond academic contributions, Rachel frequently speaks at industry conferences, including Consensus, EthDenver, EthCC and Blockchain Futurist. 

Rachel holds an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge (Hughes Hall), an LLB from Queen Mary University of London and an LLM from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She also holds a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Rachel holds the CIPP/EU certification and is admitted to practice law in New York State.