Rafael del Castillo Ionov
Of Counsel
rafaeldelcastillo@actlegal-spain.com
34 91 577 98 19
Rafael del Castillo
Background
Rafael has a strong academic and professional background in fintech, energy, and regulated markets. A practising lawyer and member of the Madrid Bar Association (ICAM), he received his Doctor of Laws degree from Universidad CEU San Pablo.
From 2011 to 2018, he directed the legal department for international projects at one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies, coordinating its legal team and acting as the secretary of companies in the group. He worked on multiple O&M, EPC, etc., engineering projects in countries such as Nigeria, Serbia, Romania, Venezuela, Armenia, Russia, Cuba, Kenya, and India.
He graduated with honours from the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management’s Executive MBA programme, which provided him with a broad perspective on business issues while fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.
He worked for several years in Zug (Switzerland) providing legal advice to trading companies and large, international FMCG holdings with a strong focus on emerging online marketplaces like Amazon. Living in Switzerland from 2017 gave him the opportunity to learn about the Crypto Valley blockchain ecosystem.
Upon returning to Spain, before joining the act legal Spain team, he worked as an independent legal adviser specialising in blockchain and digital law projects, advising domestic and international clients on various matters, such as token issuances (utility tokens and security tokens), NFTs, crypto asset investment schemes, crypto asset management, custody, and regulatory compliance.
Rafael has always combined his professional work with his academic vocation: he is a Professor of Commercial Law at Universidad CEU San Pablo and a regular lecturer at conferences, round tables, seminars, and colloquiums on commercial law, blockchain, fintech, venture capital, and internationalisation.
He has authored several research papers on blockchain, venture capital, crowdfunding, corporate governance, international business contracts, and corporate law. Among them is the first book in Spanish on the legal aspects of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and the tokenization of the economy.
He is a Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation of Spain, Coordinator of the Financial Markets Law Chair and of the Blockchain and Crypto-assets Observatory of Universidad CEU San Pablo, a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), a member of the European Directors and Board Members Association, and Director of Revista de Derecho de la Cultura (Cultural Law Journal) magazine.
Areas of practice
- Fintech regulatory
- Technology and digital media
- Commercial and corporate
Sectors
- Blockchain
- Infrastructures and industrial sector
- Digital economy
Main areas of experience
- Digital law: legal advice on the implementation of blockchain technology in companies, asset tokenization, NFTs, metaverse, cryptocurrencies, decentralised finance (DeFi), crowdfunding platforms, etc.
- Infrastructure projects in emerging markets: construction, engineering, FIDIC contracts, dispute resolution.
- Contracts of a commercial nature: including contracts for the provision of services, agency, distribution, PPAs (power-purchase agreements), issuance of carbon credits, etc.
- Corporate operations: joint ventures, partner agreements, international corporate development, structuring multinational corporate governance systems, etc.
Education
- Doctor of Laws – Universidad CEU San Pablo (2015).
- Executive MBA – Skolkovo Moscow School of Management (2013).
- Bachelor of Laws – Universidad CEU San Pablo (2006).
Additional education
- Oxford Fintech Programme – Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2018).
- 5th Higher Course of Arbitration – International Centre for Arbitration, Mediation, and Negotiation (CIAMEN) (2018).
- Practical use of FIDIC contracts. Management of modifications and claims and dispute resolution – FIDIC, Tecniberia (2016).
Teaching experience
- Director of the Master of Digital Law and Legaltech programme – Universidad CEU San Pablo (2022).
- Professor of Commercial Law – Universidad CEU San Pablo.
- Professor in the 1st and 2nd Editions of the Master of Digital Law programme – Madrid Bar Association.
Languages
Spanish, English, German, and Russian.
Publications
Monographs:
- ‘Venture capital operations: new ways of financing’, Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2022.
- ‘Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and the tokenization of the economy’, Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2018.
Collaboration on collective works:
- ‘The regulatory challenges of decentralised finance (DeFi): a perspective on the proposed regulation relating to markets in crypto-assets (MiCA)’, in Dinero Digital y Gobernanzas TIC en la UE (Digital Money and ICT Governance in the EU), Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2022.
- ‘Service tokens (utility tokens) in the crypto-asset market’, in Guía de Criptoactivos MiCA (Markets in Crypto-assets Guide), Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2021.
- ‘The European crypto-asset market: stable cryptocurrencies (stablecoins)’, in Mercados Regulados 2021 (Regulated Markets 2021), Tirant lo Blanch, 2021.
- ‘Crowdfunding platforms: their activity and specific aspects of their operations: risk analysis (scoring) and managers’ motivations’, Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2018.
- ‘Crowdfunding platforms as informal venture capital operators. Problems originating from asymmetric information in the analysis of risks and management team remuneration’, in Anuario de Capital Riesgo 2017 (Venture Capital Yearbook 2017), Instituto de Capital Riesgo (INCARI).
- ‘Partner rights (Art. 93-97 LSC)’ in Tratado de Sociedades de Capital, Comentario Judicial, Notarial, Registral y Doctrinal a la Ley de Sociedades de Capital (Capital Companies Treaty, Judicial, Notarial, Registry, and Doctrinal Commentary on the Capital Companies Act), Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2017.
- ‘The joint venture contract’, in Los contratos mercantiles y su aplicación práctica (Commercial contracts and their practical application), Bosch Wolters Kluwers, 2017.
- ‘The transport contract’, in Los contratos mercantiles y su aplicación práctica (Commercial contracts and their practical application), Bosch Wolters Kluwers, 2017.
- ‘Corporate reporting: accounting, the duty of supplemental disclosure in annual reports, and special reporting instruments (Articles 536, 537 and 538 of the Capital Companies Act)’, in Gobierno Corporativo: la estructura del órgano de gobierno y la responsabilidad de los administradores (Corporate Governance: the governing body structure and administrator responsibility), Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2015.
- ‘The operations and investment strategies of venture capital entities’, in El capital-riesgo: su operativa (Venture capital: its operations), Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2012.
Articles in scientific magazines:
- ‘A brief consideration of the use of blockchain technology as a transformative element in the cultural and creative industry’, in Revista de Derecho de la Cultura (RDC) (Cultural Law Journal), Year 2019, Number 1.
- ‘Assessment of the applicability of the regulations on economic concentrations to venture capital operations’, Revista Española de Capital Riesgo (Spanish Venture Capital Journal) No 3/2012 (2012).
- ‘The problems posed by the discipline of corporate groups in the sphere of activities of venture capital entities’, Revista Española de Capital Riesgo (Spanish Venture Capital Journal) No 3/2011 (2011).
Codes and regulations:
- Sustainability Law Code published by the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official State Gazette) (BOE).
- Coordinator of the Banking Market Code published by the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE).
- Coordinator of the Securities Market Code published by the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE).
- Coordinator of the Insurance Market Code published by the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE).
Memberships
- Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation of Spain.
- Coordinator of the Financial Markets Law Chair and of the Blockchain and Crypto-assets Observatory of Universidad CEU San Pablo.
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of the United Kingdom (CIArb).
- Director of Revista de Derecho de la Cultura (Cultural Law Journal) and member of the Cultural Law Association.
Madrid
+34 91 577 98 19
Málaga
+34 91 577 98 19
Valladolid
+34 983 30 40 15
despacho@actlegal-spain.com
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