Grant P. Fondo

Grant Fondo, a former Assistant US Attorney in the Northern District of California, is a partner in the firm's Securities Litigation & White Collar Defense group. Grant also formerly served on the firm’s Executive Committee in addition to serving as founder and Co-Chair of the firm’s Digital Currency & Blockchain practice and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act practice. He represents technology, fintech, blockchain, digital currency, private equity, venture capital, and individual clients in a wide range of regulatory and contested matters.

Grant has significant experience conducting trials and representing individual and corporate clients regarding governmental investigations and enforcement actions. He focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense, blockchain and digital currency, securities and class action litigation, federal and state regulatory matters including before the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, FTC, State Attorneys General, District Attorneys, and FinCEN, cybersecurity and privacy matters, internal investigations, and commercial disputes, and often advises boards on a variety of matters.

Grant is recognized by Chambers USA for his White Collar Defense practice and ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers FinTech for his work in blockchain and cryptocurrency and crypto-asset disputes. Grant’s clients note that he has “a very strong nose for business and is ultra-sophisticated when it comes to the commercial aspects of the practice of law in the FinTech space.” Grant has also been recognized for his work by publications such The Legal 500 US, Daily Journal, The National Law Journal, and US News Best Lawyers and has received numerous awards and features such as the Am Law Litigation Daily 2023: “Litigator of the (Past) Week Shout Out” for his successful defense of a major US cryptocurrency exchange and by The American Lawyer as “Litigator of the Week” for successful defense at trial of former J.P. Morgan Securities LLC analyst Ashish Aggarwal on 30 counts of criminal conspiracy, insider trading and wire fraud charges.

Grant vigorously defends his clients and regularly handles highly sophisticated government investigations and high-profile litigation for individuals including executives and board members for leading financial institutions and digital asset institutions and public companies and various other private and public companies across industries such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies, healthcare, technology and finance. His track record of success includes two federal criminal jury trial wins for his clients as well as being called upon to represent clients in novel legal issues.

Grant has been an active participant in bar association activities throughout his career, serving as:

• Steering Committee, Federal Bar Association, Northern District of California, 2016-2018
• Co-Chair, White Collar & Corporate Governance Subcommittee of the Securities Litigation Committee, ABA Section of Litigation, 2008-2022
• Member, Federal Courts Committee, Santa Clara County Bar Association, 2011-2015

Grant’s other professional activities include serving as a:

• Member of the Court Appointed Northern District of California Criminal Justice Act panel since 2014, representing indigent federal criminal defendants
• Former member of The Government of Bermuda's Global Fintech Advisory Board
• Former member of the Crypto Valley Association in Switzerland
• Former Head of Litigation for Goodwin’s northern and southern California offices

His volunteer work includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Los Alto-Mountain View PONY Youth Baseball League and having served as the head coach of Summit Denali High School’s varsity baseball team.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Grant served for nearly five years as an Assistant US Attorney in the Northern District of California, where he focused on prosecuting white collar crime, including investment, bank, financial, health care and securities fraud, drug trafficking and money laundering. Grant’s trials included obtaining the conviction of the owner of a large national company for bank fraud after a month-long trial, the conviction of a criminal defense lawyer for money laundering after a three-week trial, and a conviction for bankruptcy fraud after a two-week trial.

During his time as a federal prosecutor, he led a multi-jurisdictional take down of an international drug trafficking organization resulting in what was believed to be the largest seizure of methamphetamine in US history. This case received the 2012 Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area case of the year award, an effort run by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Grant is on the Northern District of California Criminal Justice Act panel and one of the co-founders of the joint criminal trial program between private law firms in Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender.

Grant has been consistently recognized for his outstanding achievements on behalf of clients throughout his career. A selection of recent recognitions include:

• Am Law Litigation Daily 2023: Awarded a “Litigator of the (Past) Week Shout Out” for a significant victory over the IRS on behalf of the second largest US-based digital currency exchange
• Chambers Fintech USA 2026: Ranked Band 2 for Crypto-Asset Disputes; clients note that he “will go to the ends of the earth for his clients but can understand how a judge will think and can come up with defenses that will be compelling to a judge and jury."
• Chambers USA 2025 – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (California): Ranked Band 2; clients note his “expertise in the financial technology sector” and that he "has outstanding judgment, he's always prepared and he is among our most trusted outside advisers. He consistently delivers a high level of service and we especially value his service with complex governmental matters."
• The Legal 500 US 2025: Recommended lawyer for Corporate Investigations, White Collar Defense and Fintech
• Daily Journal: Recognized as a top white collar lawyer in California for the third year in a row in 2023.
• The Best Lawyers in America as Best Lawyer for Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Litigation - Securities 2022-2026, and Commercial Litigation 2026.
• Benchmark Litigation: Recognized as a Litigation Star in California (2022 & 2021)
• National Law Journal: in 2018, recognized as a Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Fintech Trailblazer, and in 2015 as a White Collar Trailblazer
• The American Lawyer: “Litigator of the Week” in 2017 for the successful defense at trial of former J.P. Morgan Securities LLC analyst Ashish Aggarwal on conspiracy, insider trading, tender offer fraud and wire fraud charges

Grant is the co-founder and editor of Goodwin’s Digital Currency & Blockchain Perspectives blog.

He is a frequent writer and sought-after speaker on blockchain and cryptocurrency, initial coin offerings (ICOs), SEC enforcement, and white collar litigation topics.

Grant’s recent speaking engagements include:

• Speaker, “Crypto/Blockchain Updates: Regulations, Taxation and Industry Trends,” Andersen Tax Webcast, July 2024
• Speaker, “The Challenges of Cryptocurrency/Blockchain Litigation,” Association of Business Trial Lawyers Northern California, Woodside, CA, May 2024
• Interviewed, “U.S. Crypto Regulation Bill Needs More Work to Define Boundaries, Former Prosecutor Says,” CoinDesk TV, August 2022
• Speaker, “Crypto Decentralization and Web3: The Legal and Regulatory Landscape­ – Uncork SF, San Francisco, May 2022
• Presenter, “Blockchain Litigation - A Discussion of the Latest Civil, Regulatory and Criminal Cases,” Webinar, October 2021
• Presenter, “Digital Asset Frontlines ­- Understanding the NFT Revolution and What It Means for In-House Counsel,” ACC Sports & Entertainment Network, Webinar, April 2021
• Speaker, “The Rise of Blockchain and How it Will Transform the Real Estate industry,” 9th Annual Real Estate and Law (REAL) Symposium, Stanford, February 2020
• Speaker, “Virtual Currencies Banking & Regulating: How to Manage the Biggest Emerging Risks While Drawing the Benefits,” ACI’s 2nd Financial Crime Executive Roundtable, New York, September 2019
• Speaker, “Blockchain Governance and Security,” 16th Annual Stanford Digital Economy Best Practices Conference, Stanford, June 2019
• Speaker, “Initial Coin Offerings,” American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) 5th Annual Blockchain, Digital Currency and ICO National Institute, New York, April 2019
• Speaker, “The Evolving Regulatory Landscape of Virtual Currencies and Blockchain Technology from the Regulatory Agencies’ Perspective,” University of San Francisco Law Review Symposium, San Francisco, January 2019
• Speaker, “Blockchain Industry and the Banking Industry,” Western Bankers Association, Webinar, October 2018
• Speaker, “Token Sales: Perspectives from Legal, Investment and Startups,” BlockCon, Santa Monica, October 2018
• Speaker, “Blockchain Innovation and Opportunity,” ABA Blockchain Technology, Digital Currency, and ICO National Institute, New York, April 2018
• Speaker, Draper University Executive Blockchain Program, San Mateo, CA, April 2018
• Panelist, “Raising Capital in an ICO World: Dissecting the Value of New Fundraising Opportunities,” Goodwin & Fintech Sandbox Hosted Panel Discussion, San Francisco, March 2018
• Speaker, Yahoo! Finance All Markets Summit – Crypto, New York, February 2018
• Speaker, “Legal Considerations for Token Generation Events in 2018,” World Crypto Economic Forum, San Francisco, January 2018

His recent publications include:

• Contributor, “Digital Currency & Blockchain Quarterly Litigation Update,” Goodwin Insight, February 2026
• Contributor, “Digital Currency & Blockchain Quarterly Litigation Update,” Goodwin Insight, November 2025
• Contributor, “Digital Currency & Blockchain Quarterly Litigation Update,” Goodwin Insight, July 2025
• Contributor, “Digital Currency & Blockchain Quarterly Litigation Update,” Goodwin Insight, April 2025
• Quoted, “US Enforcement Agencies Are Turning Up the Heat on Crypto-Related Crime,” Cointelegraph Magazine, March 2023
• Quoted, “Kraken Gets IRS Summons Narrowed For Crypto User Info,” Law360, July 2023
• Co-Author, “DAO Governance Token Holders Can Be Held Responsible for Security Incident,” Westlaw Today, May 2023
• Quoted, “New CFTC Bill Could Overrule SEC but Leaves Fate of Many Crypto Tokens Unresolved,” Blockworks, August 2022
• Co-Author, “What the ‘NFT Indictment’ Tells Us About the Trading of Digital Assets,” BlockTribune, June 2022
• Co-Author, “SEC Enforcement Broadens Its Crypto Focus,” Goodwin Client Alert, May 2022
• Co-Author, “SEC Complaint Against Ripple (XRP) and Possible Regulatory Signals Ahead for 2021,” Goodwin Client Alert, January 2021
• Co-Author, “BitMEX Founder’s Charges Highlight Risks for DeFi,” CoinDesk (November 2020)“YLR: Cryptocurrency Revisited,” Your Legal Rights Podcast, October 2020
• Co-Author, “COVID-19 Litigation and Government Investigations in the US: What We Are Seeing Now, And What the Future Holds,” Goodwin Client Alert, April 2020
• Contributor, “ICOs and the Future of Capital Raising: Will Digital Coins and Blockchain Play an Important Role in Capital Markets?” MergerMarket, April 2018
• Co-Author, "SEC Sues Longfin Over Trades Following Acquisition of Cryptocurrency Company,” Digital Currency & Blockchain Perspectives, April 2018
• Co-Author, “FinCEN States Sellers of Tokens are MSBs; FinCEN Registration May be Required for ICOs,” Goodwin Client Alert, March 2018