Walkers’ lawyers in Guernsey have advised on the high-profile partnership announced between the Washington Nationals baseball team and the Terra crypto-currency community.
The partnership – reported in the US as a five-year, $38.15 million deal – is among the first major transactions involving Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) – effectively organisations using digital currency and smart contracts to pool resources and make decisions through blockchain technology.
Walker’s Guernsey Private Capital & Trusts Practice Group, led by Partner Rupert Morris, advised Terra on the creation of a Guernsey Purpose Trust to effectively bridge the gap between the digital and traditional economies.
Walkers’ team worked with Margaret Rosenfeld (Partner) and Will Bowers (Associate) from K&L Gates LLP in the US to advise the Terra community. Advocate Morris was supported by a team including Associate Marcel Treurnicht.
Rupert (pictured) said: “We are so pleased to have been able to advise on this innovative transaction and to have been able to work with our colleagues on this deal. This is genuinely ground-breaking work and has been a tremendous partnership between all involved.
“It is also very pleasing that Guernsey’s trusts law has enabled us to create a trust structure that gives Terra a platform in the traditional economy, and it is a credit to the creative and flexible way that the legislation has been updated over the years.”
The partnership deal includes a sponsorship package, the rebranding of the Nationals Club to Terra Club, a digital series for the club’s social media platforms, and plans to enable the DAO’s stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) to be used throughout Nationals Park, the home stadium of the Nationals.
Terra is one of the largest DAOs in the cryptocurrency industry and has experienced a meteoric rise as a market leader through its blockchain and DeFi ecosystem. There has been heavy media coverage of Terra’s activities, particularly since co-founder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, announced that a partnership would be formed with a professional sports team in the US.
The Nationals are a leading Major League Baseball franchise based in Washington DC, and the winners of the 2019 World Series.
