Alexander Drylewski

Practice Areas

Alex Drylewski is co-head of Skadden’s Web3 and Digital Assets Group. His practice focuses on high-stakes complex commercial and securities litigation involving emerging technologies, government investigations, securities class actions, trials and appeals. In 2023, Mr. Drylewski helped secure court victories on behalf of a number of clients, including Coinbase, Maker Ecosystem Growth Foundation, Paradigm, and QIWI.

Publications

Mr. Drylewski regularly writes on digital asset-related litigation and regulatory topics. He is an author of Skadden’s Distributed Ledger, a compendium of legal developments in the blockchain industry, and a chapter on “Virtual Currencies” in the leading treatise, Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts. In 2023, Mr. Drylewski was named a FinTech MVP by Law360 and was the winner of a Law360 Award for Distinguished Legal Writing (presented by the Burton Awards). He regularly speaks on panels and at conferences regarding digital asset-related litigation and regulation.

A select list of other recent publications includes:

1. The Distributed Ledger: JPEX Is Test Case for Hong Kong’s New Regulatory Regime for Virtual Asset Exchanges (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, November 7, 2023)

2. Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Laws and Regulations 2024 (Legal Considerations in the Minting, Marketing and Selling of NFTs) (Global Legal Group Ltd., 2023)

3. Skadden Discusses CFTC Charges That DeFi Developers Facilitated Off-Exchange Trading (The CLS Blue Sky Blog, September 26, 2023)

4. Ripple, Terraform, and the Reach of the Federal Securities Laws to Digital Asset Transactions on Secondary Trading Platforms (Future & Derivatives Law Report, September 2023)

5. Inside the Courts – An Update From Skadden Securities Litigators (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, September 2023)

6. Two Sides of the Same Coin: Analyzing the Recent Ripple and Terraform Decisions (Reuters Legal News, August 31, 2023)

7. Skadden Discusses DOJ's Reliance on Traditional Statutes in Cryptoasset Fraud Cases (The CLS Blue Sky Blog, August 3, 2023)

8. New Senate Crypto Bill Would Limit SEC Regulatory Role in Favor of CFTC (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, July 20, 2023)

Personal

In 2023, Mr. Drylewski was named a FinTech MVP by Law360 and recognized by Lawdragon among its 2024 500 Leading Litigators in America list, in its first edition of 500 X – The Next Generation, and among its 500 Leading Global Litigators. In 2022, he attained Band 1 in Chambers FinTech 2023’s inaugural Crypto-Asset Disputes rankings. The New York Law Journal named him a 2020 Rising Star and Benchmark Litigation has recognized him as a Future Star since 2021. Mr. Drylewski has been recognized by The American Lawyer for several successful representations. J.D., Brooklyn Law School, B.A., Colgate University.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Bar Admissions

1. New York

2. U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia and the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York

3. U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and District of Columbia Circuits

Experience

Law Clerk, Hon. Edward R. Korman, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York