Salvatore Luciano Furnari

Practice Areas

Fintech Regulation; Banking & Payments; Cryptoassets & Blockchain; Investment Services; Financial Innovation; Compliance & Supervisory Law; StartUp and M&A

Career

Salvatore Luciano Furnari, PhD, is an Italian lawyer and chartered accountant with consolidated expertise in financial regulation, corporate law, fintech, cryptoassets, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

He advises financial intermediaries, fintech companies, crypto-asset service providers and technology operators on MiCA, PSD2/PSD3, DORA, MAR/MiFID II, and the broader regulatory framework for digital finance. His work includes licensing procedures, compliance strategy, tokenization models, governance design for DeFi protocols, and regulatory interactions with the Bank of Italy and CONSOB.

Within Lener & Partners, Furnari serves as Head of the Digital Assets & Decentralized Finance Department, supporting institutions, corporates, and innovative startups in structuring blockchain-based products, evaluating regulatory perimeters, and implementing compliant business models.

Alongside practice, he conduct research activities on of Italy’s leading research platforms on financial regulation. His combination of academic rigour and practical advisory work positions him among the foremost Italian experts in blockchain law and DeFi regulation.

Professional Memberships

Rome Bar Association

Chartered Accountant (Ordine dei Dottori Commercialisti)

European Decentralization Institute

Contributor, FCHub – Financial Regulation Hub

Publications

La Finanza Decentralizzata: Cripto-attività, protocolli, questioni giuridiche aperte, Minerva Bancaria, 2023.

Regulation of Financial Protocol DAOs: Addressing the Problems of Decentralization and AI Governance, in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations – Governance, Technology, and Legal Perspectives, Springer, 2025 (with C. Villani).

Multiple scientific and specialist publications on blockchain protocols, smart contracts, crypto-asset regulation, and digital-finance governance.

Frequent contributor to FCHub, with analyses on MiCA, tokenization, DeFi, and emergent regulatory issues.

Personal

Based in Rome.

PhD in Law and qualified both as lawyer and chartered accountant.

Fluent in Italian and English.

Professional interests include the interaction between law, blockchain architectures, decentralized systems, and financial innovation.

Clients

Provides legal and regulatory advice to:

-Fintech startups and digital-finance operators

-Banks, investment firms and asset managers

-Crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) preparing for MiCA authorization

-DeFi protocol teams and Web3 foundations

-Technology companies active in DePIN, blockchain, and AI-driven infrastructures

Industry Sector Expertise

Salvatore Luciano Furnari combines legal practice, academic research, and technological understanding to offer deep expertise in EU financial regulation, cryptoassets, decentralized architectures, and digital-finance innovation. His work bridges regulatory interpretation, policy analysis, and high-level advisory, making him a reference point in Italy for clients navigating blockchain and DeFi regulatory frameworks.

Languages Spoken

Italian (native)

English (fluent)

Chinese (basic)