Sebastian Dey

Sebastian is our Head of Digital Assets Germany and part of the Linklaters German Digital Economy Group. He is a dual-qualified lawyer (Germany/England & Wales). Sebastian is based in our Frankfurt Office having previously lived and worked in Asia, the UK and the US. He specialises in the area of DLT-based capital markets products such as crypto securities, crypto derivatives and crypto currencies as well as the tokenisation of traditional financial instruments. He also regularly advises global banks, financial institutions, asset managers, insurance companies, private equity firms, CCPs and corporates under German and English law with respect to a variety of traditional (structured) capital market products and structured finance. There his focus is on (cleared and non-cleared, OTC and exchange-traded) derivatives (credit, crypto, FX, interest rate and equity), (cleared and non-cleared) repo and securities lending transactions, Schuldscheindarlehen and registered bonds as well as hybrid instruments such as convertible and exchangeable bonds. 

He also covers the following regulatory areas arising in connection with structured capital markets: EMIR, CRR, SRM-R/BRRD/SAG, SFT-R and CSD-R, MiFID II/MiFIR as well the EU DLT Pilot Regime and MiCAR.

Work Highlights

• DekaBank: lead on advice on all legal aspects of
  • The issuance of the client's first crypto securities under the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG) via the Deka securities platform SWIAT,
  • Acting as registrar using distributed ledger technology in connection with digital registered bonds (Namensschuldverschreibung) issued by German savings banks (Sparkassen).
• Vonovia: advice on all legal aspects of the issuance of fully digital registered bond (Namensschuldverschreibung) using distributed ledger technology.
• Fnality Payment System (previously the Utility Settlement Coin): advice on the establishment of a global payment system powered by blockchain technology with a consortium of leading international banks.
• Deutsche Börse/Eurex Clearing: advice on all legal and regulatory aspects of the extension of the clearing product offering by including physically-settled crypto futures.
• Commerzbank: co-lead on advice on all capital markets-related aspects of the sale of its Equity Markets and Commodities (EMC) business to Société Générale.
• MUFG: advice in connection with the acquisition of DVB's market-leading aviation debt, equity and advisory business.

Sebastian has been working at Linklaters since 2006. He held the position as Associate from 2008 until 2011 and the position as Managing Associate from 2011 until 2017. In 2017 he was appointed Counsel and in 2022 Head of Digital Assets Germany.

He worked six months each in Linklaters Hong Kong and New York offices and provided several months of on-site advice at DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale in 2009.

Sebastian graduated from the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin in 2003 with a degree in Business Law. He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in English Law from BPP Law School in London and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Oxford Institute of Law. He was admitted as a Solicitor for England and Wales in 2008 and as a German lawyer in 2011.

He is fluent in German and English.

• Finanzderivate Rechtshandbuch, Krypto Derivate, 5th edition, page 467, Nomos, 2023
• Digitaler Kapitalmarkt – Nächster Meilenstein: EU DLT Pilot Regime in Der Betrieb Sonderbeilage 2022, page 48 together with A-M. Sahm
• Using documentation to drive change – in ISLA White Paper entitled "The Future of the Securities Lending Market | On the Cusp of Transformation", page 10
• ESG Derivate 2.0 – Standardisierung und Digitalisierung in Der Betrieb ESG Sonderbeilage 2022, page 50 together with F. Baetke
• Grüner Kapitalmarkt – Vereinbarkeit von ESG und DLT? in Der Betrieb ESG Sonderbeilage 2022, page 53 together with St. Gohling
• Green Derivatives – ein Status Quo in Der Betrieb ESG Sonderbeilage 2021, page 53 together with Ch. Schmitt und Ch. Storck
• Kapitalmarktrecht – Vertragliche Close-out Nettingvereinbarungen nach deutschem Insolvenzrecht: Neue Gesetzgebung zum Close-out Netting verabschiedet in Der Betrieb Sonderbeilage Unternehmensrelevante Rechtsentwicklungen 2017 – Bedeutung für 2018, page 46 together with Ch. Storck

External events/Podcasts

• Crypto Assets Conference 2023, Panel "Tokenization - How Blockchain is Revolutionizing Securities" March 2023, Frankfurt am Main
• Podcast (German) "Derivate im Ohr – Episode 12: Kryptoderivate – Rechtshandbuch Finanzderivate" March 2023
• Corporate Governance Conference 2022, Presentation "Digitale Unternehmens-finanzierung – Chancen der DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) auch mit Blick auf ESG-Ziele", November 2022, Frankfurt am Main
• Crypto Assets Conference 2022, Panel "Making Asset Classes Accessible with Blockchain Technology" October 2022, Frankfurt am Main
• Webinar "EU DLT Pilot Regime – Opportunities for issuers, trading facilities, settlement providers and investors" May 2022
• Podcast (German) "Green Derivatives – ein Status quo" February 2022
• Webinar "Cryptos: Just another asset class?" October 2021
• Webinar "New German Electronic Securities Law (eWpG) – Evolution or Revolution?" June 2021
• Webinar "Ein Novum am Kapitalmarkt: Digitale Schuldverschreibungen" March 2021