Token issuance lawyers, from incorporation to listing.
Neo Legal incorporates token issuers in the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Panama and the Marshall Islands without anyone needing to travel, then takes the project through classification, sale documents, exchange listing opinions and the UAE perimeter. One firm and one fixed-fee scope, from the first structure chart to the token generation event and beyond.
The practice has advised on virtual asset matters since 2015, led the world’s first cryptocurrency IPO, and advised Animoca Brands on its Dubai VARA VASP licence (announced February 2026). Issuance work sits alongside our VARA and Dubai crypto practices, so the offshore structure and the onshore team are advised by the same people.
Neo Legal is a token issuance law firm based in Dubai. We incorporate the issuing entity remotely in the jurisdiction that fits the project, whether a BVI Business Company, a Cayman exempted or foundation company, a Panama corporation or foundation, or a Marshall Islands corporation or DAO LLC, and handle the legal work a launch needs: classification of the token, sale documents and terms, exchange listing legal opinions, and the VARA perimeter for teams in Dubai. Led by Harly Zappino, advising on virtual assets since 2015.
What we do for a token launch
- We choose the issuer jurisdiction on the project's facts and design the group around it, from a single issuing company to an issuer, a foundation and a UAE operating company.
- We incorporate the issuer remotely through licensed local agents, with a constitution drafted for token issuance, treasury controls and governance from day one.
- We classify the token in writing before the whitepaper is final, under the issuer's law and the UAE regimes where the team sits.
- We draft the sale documents: SAFTs, token warrants and sale terms, terms of use, risk disclosures, and the KYC and restricted-jurisdiction framework.
- We prepare the exchange listing legal opinion and answer exchange and investor diligence.
- We run the UAE layer: the operating company for the team, the intercompany agreements and the written VARA perimeter analysis.
- After the token generation event we stay on for treasury policy, vesting and unlock governance, new product reviews and regulatory change.
Choosing the jurisdiction
Four jurisdictions dominate offshore token issuance, and each fits a different kind of project.
| Jurisdiction | Best for | Indicative setup |
|---|---|---|
| British Virgin Islands | The default issuer: issuing your own token is not a registrable activity under the VASP Act, formation takes days, and exchanges know BVI paper | USD 1,500 to 2,500 |
| Cayman Islands | Institutionally backed projects, and the foundation company as the wrapper for protocol and DAO treasuries | USD 3,500 to 6,000 |
| Panama | Civil-law sponsors and Latin American projects, with territorial tax and the private interest foundation | USD 1,800 to 3,500 |
| Marshall Islands | DAO-governed projects that want the DAO LLC, the most explicit legal form for decentralised governance | USD 2,500 to 4,500 |
Figures are indicative all-in formation costs before legal work on the token. The full comparison, with the selection framework we use, is in our offshore token issuance guide.
No one needs to travel
All four jurisdictions incorporate through licensed local agents. You provide certified KYC from wherever you live, sign the constitutional documents electronically, and receive the company documents electronically, with originals couriered where a bank needs them. A BVI issuer can be formed within days of complete KYC. The process, and the few places where geography still matters, are set out in incorporating offshore without travelling.
The questions we answer in writing
Every engagement produces short written answers to the three questions that decide a launch's risk: what the token is (utility or security), whether the issuer or anyone in the group needs a licence (the licensing question), and how the team's location affects both (the Dubai team question). Those documents are what exchanges, investors and, if it ever comes to it, regulators ask to see.
Why projects instruct Neo Legal
Most offshore firms incorporate companies and stop. Most onshore firms advise on licences and never see the offshore paper. We do both, because token projects need both: the issuer is offshore, the team is usually somewhere with a regulator, and the risk lives in the gap between the two. Our licensing work is led by a former VARA insider, our China Desk advises Mandarin-speaking founders in Mandarin, and our work for Animoca Brands on its VARA licence is publicly verifiable. Fees are fixed and scoped in writing before work starts.
Token issuance: frequently asked questions
Launching a token this year?
Tell us about the project. We will come back with the jurisdiction we would recommend, the scope and a fixed fee.
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