Matthew J. Bouillon Mascareñas

Matt started his career prosecuting criminal cases until eventually discovering Bitcoin through – where else? – the field of money laundering enforcement. As a state Assistant Attorney General based in Las Cruces, New Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border, he provided over 50 hours of training to federal and state law enforcement agents and financial institutions on the Bank Secrecy Act and the mechanics of money laundering investigations. After several successful jury trial prosecutions involving violations of the New Mexico Money Laundering and Racketeering Acts – not to mention paperhanding Bitcoin at $300 and XRP at $0.005 – he turned his focus to the financial services industry.

Matt became the prosecutor for the New Mexico Securities Division in 2015 and, in 2017, accepted a position in Denver representing the Colorado Securities and Banking Commissioners. It was in Denver that he gradually made up for those initial poor investment decisions. Then, in the aftermath of the 2017 crypto bubble, he handled the first initial coin offering (ICO) securities enforcement cases in Colorado. The privilege of having a front row seat for these developments was exhilarating.

In 2019, the governor of New Mexico appointed Matt to the position of director of the New Mexico Securities Division, which he reluctantly accepted. However, he soon became frustrated by the slow and outdated bureaucracy of state government and realized he was much better suited to the private sector. It was one of the best decisions he’s ever made.

Now, Matt’s primary focus is helping clients at all stages of development take advantage of the crypto space’s explosive growth. As a result, he spends an inordinate amount of time staying abreast of new developments governing this industry, including federal and state securities laws, consumer protection laws, broker-dealer regulations, draft legislation, and anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations, to name a few.

Matt also participates in the governance processes of several decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, including Curve and Convex. He acknowledges that the social dimension of DeFi and the careful construction of participant incentives were always going to be very difficult to effectively implement and understand. But the unbridled optimism of thousands of buidlers and developers in the space – and the cultural revolution that NFTs have started – give him hope that we will, in fact, change the global financial system for the better. His and the firm’s mission is to help his clients make this aspiration a reality.

For a case evaluation or second opinion on your current case, contact us at +1 (505) 317-6953.