Erika Cabo

ERIKA CABO focuses her practice on blockchain and digital assets transactions, derivatives, and structured products. She is a member of Sidley’s OTC Derivatives group and the FinTech and Blockchain group, which is ranked as Band 1 in FinTech Legal: Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies — USA — Nationwide by the Chambers FinTech guide in 2025 and 2024 and was named “FinTech Practice Group of the Year” by Law360 (2020). She focuses her practice on representing digital asset trading platforms, blockchain technology companies, U.S. and non-U.S. broker-dealers, financial services firms, and cryptocurrency funds. She advises technology companies and investment firms on tokenization of real-world assets, public and private securities offerings, and blockchain token sales.

Erika counsels financial institutions and digital asset exchanges with day-to-day securities issues, custody rule requirements, broker-dealer issues, cross-border regulatory issues, and money services business registration requirements. She is a member of Sidley’s global Securities Enforcement and Regulatory practice, which was named the “Law Firm of the Year” for Securities Regulation in 2024, 2020, and 2017 by U.S. News – Best Lawyers®, and ranked Band 1 in Financial Services Regulation: Broker Dealer (Compliance & Enforcement) in Chambers USA 2025 (13 years ranked). As a transactional and regulatory lawyer, she works on structuring deals and negotiating U.S. and cross-border agreements involving financial services and technology companies, digital asset exchanges, and blockchain token offerings.

Erika also focuses her practice on negotiating and advising on derivatives and structured products transactions in the U.S. and Latin America with U.S. and non-U.S. broker-dealers, financial institutions, corporations, and sovereign entities. Erika advises a wide range of clients, including buy-side and sell-side, in their derivatives trading, structuring, negotiation, documentation, and regulation. She advises both regulated entities and end users on regulatory and compliance issues under the Dodd-Frank Act and Commodity Exchange Act.

Prior to joining Sidley, Erika practiced in the New York office of a global law firm, where she advised a wide range of clients (including buy-side and sell-side financial institutions and corporates) in the U.S. and Latin America in all aspects of their derivatives trading, documentation and regulation, as well as counseling technology companies in federal and state securities laws in the firm’s blockchain and digital assets practice.

She is fluent in Spanish.

• Advised a U.S. technology company on federal and state law regulatory issues relating to the launch of its cold storage wallet and hardware for digital assets in the U.S. and international markets.
• Represented a public U.S. technology company in reviewing and drafting 10-Q and 10-K SEC filings, providing advice regarding regulatory risks and disclosures.
• Advised a Swiss technology company on elements related to its mission to achieve the vision of Web 3.0, a decentralized internet, which facilitated the development of its blockchain protocol, including drafting and negotiating a token grant agreement.
• Represented a digital trading company in drafting and negotiating a digital asset custody agreement with a digital asset platform.
• Counseled a large global bank on securities laws and regulatory and custody rule issues in connection with digital assets to be held with a custodian or digital asset wallet provider on behalf of its clients.
• Drafted comment letters on behalf of clients on a broad range of proposed SEC rules.
• Counseled corporates, sovereigns, broker-dealers, and other swap market participants in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America on the complex regulatory issues arising in cross-border derivatives transactions, including Dodd-Frank Act regulatory issues.
• Represented corporates, sovereigns, and financial institutions in Latin America in the negotiation and documentation of derivatives transactions. 
• Drafted, structured, and negotiated swap documentation for buy- and sell-side institutions in connection with a variety of bespoke derivatives transactions, including hybrid products that combine securitization or project finance techniques and derivatives, deal-contingent derivatives transactions, total return swaps, and currency and interest rate swaps.
• Represented global banks and broker-dealers in the documentation and negotiation of structured note programs and issuances of credit, equity and index linked structured notes, SPV repackagings, and derivatives structured products transactions.
• Advised a global bank in the documentation and negotiation of structured commodities transactions.
• Represented lenders and borrowers in Latin America in syndicated loan facilities and project finance transactions.

The above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley. 

• Member, Board of Directors of the Duke South Florida Board.
• Member, Legal Services of Greater Miami Young Professionals Council.