Stephen Palley, Partner at Anderson Kill

This episode of The Scoop, The Block's interview podcast hosted by Frank Chaparro, features Stephen Palley, a partner at the law firm Anderson Kill, for a conversation about the state of crypto litigation, regulation, and the legal risks facing the industry in 2019. 

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Palley built a reputation as one of the more outspoken and skeptical legal voices covering crypto, known for scrutinizing token offerings, exchange practices, and disclosures with the same rigor he applied to insurance coverage disputes, his primary area of practice at Anderson Kill. By 2019, the industry was working through the fallout of the prior year's ICO boom and bust, with the SEC pursuing enforcement actions against token issuers, class-action suits piling up against exchanges and project teams, and lawyers increasingly playing a central role in shaping how crypto companies operated.

The episode captures that moment, with Palley offering a practitioner's view of which legal theories were actually gaining traction in court versus which were mostly noise on social media. The conversation covers several concrete areas of Palley's practice and commentary: how securities law was being applied, unevenly, to token sales; the emerging body of case law around cryptocurrency as property in disputes over lost or stolen funds; and the practical challenges of pursuing claims against pseudonymous or offshore project teams.

Palley and Chaparro also discuss how traditional law firms were adapting to represent crypto clients, the role of self-regulation and industry standards in reducing legal exposure, and Palley's frequently cited skepticism toward hype-driven claims made by token projects, a stance that made him a go-to fact-check voice for reporters covering the space. The episode also touches on how insurance products were beginning to adapt to cover crypto custody and smart contract risk, an area where Palley's dual background in coverage law and crypto gave him a distinctive vantage point. The interview offers a grounded, lawyer's-eye view of an industry still working out which of its practices could survive contact with existing legal frameworks.