Bill Okello
Nairobi County
Summary
Blockchain and digital asset infrastructure specialist with experience supporting tokenization, custody, stablecoins, institutional DeFi, and blockchain-based capital markets products. Advised and supported projects involving Binance, Circle, Ripple, Hedera, Nairobi Securities Exchange, Steakhouse Financial, Grove, and Sanduk across regulatory strategy, blockchain product structuring, institutional onchain finance, and regulated market adoption. Brings combined legal, commercial, and ecosystem expertise relevant to secure, auditable, enterprise blockchain deployments.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
Work History
Legal Counsel
Steakhouse Financial
02.2025 - Current
- Provide legal and strategic support to an organization building transparent, efficient, and institutional-grade DeFi infrastructure for capital markets on public blockchains.
- Support legal and strategic work relating to institutional onchain financial products, blockchain-based treasury deployment, and digital asset infrastructure.
- Contributed to work involving integrations and structuring relevant to earn products associated with Coinbase, Safe Wallet, Trust Wallet, Binance Wallet among others.
- Worked with Grove Financial on institutional onchain deployment involving approximately USD 700 million into BlackRock BUIDL and approximately USD 1 billion into Janus Henderson-related strategies among other RWA deployments.
- Advise on legal, strategic, and stakeholder matters affecting institutional adoption of blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
- Support management and cross-functional teams on complex issues at the intersection of DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, and legal strategy
Director
Virtual Assets Chamber
Nairobi County
10.2024 - Current
- Lead engagement on virtual asset and blockchain ecosystem development across Africa, including work with regulators, industry participants, and strategic partners.
- Advised Binance and Circle on legal and regulatory strategy relevant to African markets, including digital asset product positioning and market-entry considerations.
- Supported Ripple-related custody and tokenization integrations in Kenya, including real estate tokenization initiatives and collaboration models with banks for custody services.
- Worked with Nairobi Securities Exchange and Hedera in innovation-lab collaboration on blockchain-based capital markets products, including stablecoin issuance concepts, listed shares tokenization platforms, and platforms for borrowing against shares.
- Engage regulators and stakeholders on digital asset policy, compliance, and blockchain adoption in regulated markets.
- Promote frameworks for secure, innovative, and accessible virtual asset and blockchain infrastructure.
Partner
Okello & Kiume Advocates LLP
Nairobi County
05.2024 - 01.2025
- Advised blockchain projects on blockchain, digital asset, fintech, and corporate legal matters.
- Supported market-entry, legal structuring, and regulatory analysis for blockchain and digital asset products.
- Provided advisory support on tokenization, stablecoins, licensing considerations, and legal risk in emerging and regulated markets.
- Assisted clients in aligning blockchain-related business models with evolving legal and compliance requirements.
Devcon Legal Scholar
Ethereum Foundation
Bangkok
09.2024 - 12.2024
- Participated in advanced legal and technical learning on Ethereum, blockchain systems, and digital asset regulation.
- Engaged with blockchain lawyers, technologists, and policy professionals on law and blockchain intersection issues.
- Contributed analysis on stablecoins, regulatory frameworks, and responsible blockchain innovation.
Head, Legal & Partnerships
Sanduk
Nairobi County
10.2022 - 05.2024
- Led legal and partnership work for a blockchain-enabled savings and payments business.
- Supported the launch and structuring of a stablecoin savings product and stablecoin-based transfer/remittance flows.
- Managed legal due diligence, commercial contracts, service-provider arrangements, and regulatory risk for blockchain-related business operations.
- Monitored and interpreted legal and regulatory developments affecting digital asset and payment products.
- Supported compliance strategy and stakeholder engagement relevant to blockchain-enabled financial products.
Legal Officer
State Department for Co-operatives
Nairobi
02.2022 - 10.2022
- Litigated on behalf of the state department in the Co-operative Tribunal.
- Researched emerging legal issues impacting the state department to inform legal strategies.
- Drafted pleadings and other legal documents.
- Collated documents and evidence, identified and prepared witnesses in support of the state department’s cases.
- Reviewed pleadings on cases against the department and drafted case histories and instructions for the state law office.
- Examined case files and drafted concise case analysis and case briefs.
- Assisted the management in interpreting and applying statutes, agreements, contracts, rules and regulations.
Lawyer
Purity Mureithi & Company Advocates
07.2021 - 01.2022
- Prepared pleadings, including affidavits and submissions, that contributed to winning a property dispute case at the Court of Appeal.
- Conducted legal research and compiled evidence in support of the firm’s clients’ cases.
- Conducted client interviews and provided tailored legal advice to address specific concerns.
- Drafted contracts based on client specifications, including sale agreements, tenancy agreements, and employment contracts.
- Prepared and lodged conveyancing forms and documents at the relevant registries for valuation, franking and/or registration.
- Drafted and lodged the relevant probate and succession forms at the relevant law courts.
- Assessed client needs and developed innovative solutions to effectively resolve legal issues.
- Addressed clients’ needs and fostered trusting relationships with the clients.
Education
Advanced Topics in Blockchain And Digital Currency
University of Nicosia
Cyprus01-2024
Post Graduate Diploma - Law
Kenya School of Law
Nairobi, Kenya01-2022
Bachelor of Laws (LLB) -
University of Nairobi
Nairobi, Kenya01-2019
Skills
- Financial regulatory compliance
- Financial markets regulation
- Corporate compliance
- Legal risk management
- Regulatory policy research
- Stablecoin legal frameworks
- Virtual asset advocacy
- Policy advocacy
- Regulator and stakeholder engagement
- Legal policy leadership
Representative Project Experience
Tokenization and Custody
- Supported Ripple-linked custody and tokenization integrations in Kenya.
- Worked on structures involving real estate tokenization and collaboration with banks on custody-service models.
- Worked with Nairobi Securities Exchange and Hedera on innovation-lab initiatives involving stablecoin issuance, tokenized listed shares, and borrowing against securities.
- Supported institutional DeFi and treasury deployment matters through Steakhouse Financial and Grove.
- Contributed to legal and strategic work relating to deployment into tokenized money market and asset management structures, including BUIDL and Janus Henderson-related strategies.
- Supported Sanduk’s launch of a stablecoin savings product and stablecoin-enabled money transfer functionality.
- Advised on regulatory and commercial issues affecting blockchain-based payment and savings products.
- Advised international and regional digital asset companies, including Binance and Circle, on African regulatory strategy, product structuring, and market-entry issues.
Timeline
Legal Counsel
Steakhouse Financial
02.2025 - Current
Director
Virtual Assets Chamber
10.2024 - Current
Devcon Legal Scholar
Ethereum Foundation
09.2024 - 12.2024
Partner
Okello & Kiume Advocates LLP
05.2024 - 01.2025
Head, Legal & Partnerships
Sanduk
10.2022 - 05.2024
Legal Officer
State Department for Co-operatives
02.2022 - 10.2022
Lawyer
Purity Mureithi & Company Advocates
07.2021 - 01.2022
Advanced Topics in Blockchain And Digital Currency
University of Nicosia
Post Graduate Diploma - Law
Kenya School of Law
Bachelor of Laws (LLB) -
University of Nairobi