Cryptocurrency expert witness.
Independent expert evidence on anything crypto for courts and tribunals in New Zealand and Australia, and US instructions through Crypto Consulting USA. Criminal, civil, family, estate, insolvency, tax and regulatory matters, from Bitcoin and stablecoins to DeFi, NFTs and smart contracts.
Courts I've given evidence in
Details are anonymised. The case work page has the full write-ups.
Criminal and civil
Homicide trial instructed by the Crown, with jury-facing evidence and cross-examination at trial. Also civil enforcement and relationship property reports.
Criminal, defence-instructed
Independent report on the on-chain evidence the prosecution relied on, with oral evidence by audio-visual link at trial.
Property and relationship property
Concealed crypto uncovered and disclosed in Australian property settlements, worth AUD 500,000 to AUD 5 million per matter. Tracing and valuation in NZ, including oral evidence.
Disputed transfer
On-chain reconstruction of a disputed cryptocurrency transfer, with evidence given by audio-visual link.
Crypto expert evidence for every kind of case
If a matter turns on cryptocurrency, digital assets or blockchain technology, I can give evidence on it. These are the areas it comes up most.
Criminal
Fraud and scams, money laundering, drug and darknet market cases, ransomware, theft and proceeds of crime. For the prosecution or the defence: tracing, attribution, testing the other side's evidence, and explaining the technology to a jury.
Civil and commercial
Investment and contract disputes, misrepresentation, shareholder and partnership disputes over crypto businesses, hacks and thefts, and claims involving exchanges, platforms and custodians.
Family law
Property settlements and relationship property: finding undisclosed crypto, attributing wallets and valuing holdings on the dates that matter. See Australia and New Zealand.
Estates and succession
What a deceased person held, whether it can be accessed, what it was worth at the date of death, and estate disputes. See crypto in deceased estates.
Insolvency and bankruptcy
Crypto held by a company or bankrupt, transfers made before an appointment, and values at the key dates. See crypto in insolvency.
Tax disputes
Disputes with the ATO or IRD: which transactions actually happened, how swaps, staking, airdrops and DeFi work, and values at each transaction date. The technical and valuation evidence, not tax law.
Regulatory and enforcement
Matters involving police, ASIC, AUSTRAC, the FMA or other agencies, including civil enforcement: how a platform, token or transaction worked, and where the money went.
Insurance and negligence
Claims over lost or stolen crypto, and whether an adviser, exchange or custodian handled keys and funds the way the industry expects.
Employment and workplace
Staff theft or misuse of company crypto, wages or bonuses paid in crypto, and disputes over who controls company wallets.
What I give evidence on
Tracing
Where funds went, hop by hop, across wallets, exchanges, bridges and mixers. See crypto tracing.
Wallet attribution
Who controls a wallet, using clustering, exchange records and behaviour over time.
Valuation
What holdings were worth on the dates that matter: separation, hearing, loss, death or appointment.
Undisclosed holdings
Whether a party holds crypto they haven't disclosed, and how much.
Exchange records
Reading exchange statements and subpoenaed records, and reconciling them with the blockchain.
Technical explanation
How blockchains, wallets and keys work, explained so a judge or jury can follow.
Scams and laundering
How a scheme moved money, and whether the patterns match known scam and laundering typologies.
Access and recovery
Whether a wallet could have been accessed, and what happened to keys, devices and seed phrases.
Reviewing the other expert
Testing another expert's methods and conclusions, and preparing a responsive report.
Devices, keys and seed phrases
Examining hardware wallets, wallet files and recovery phrases found in evidence, and what they show about who could move the funds.
DeFi, NFTs and smart contracts
What a smart contract, token or protocol actually did, who controlled it, and where value moved through it.
Industry practice
Whether an exchange, custodian, adviser or developer acted in line with accepted practice in the crypto industry.
Assets, networks and technology
From Bitcoin's earliest wallet formats to current DeFi protocols.
How I can help a legal team
Party-appointed expert
Instructed by one side, with my overriding duty to the court.
Single joint or court expert
Instructed by both parties or appointed by the court. Common in family matters, and cheaper than two competing experts.
Consulting expert
Advice to counsel that isn't intended to go before the court: what to seek in discovery, whether the crypto evidence stacks up, and what to ask the other side's expert.
Responding to another expert
Testing the other side's methods and conclusions, and preparing a reply report.
Joint reports and concurrent evidence
Expert conferences, joint reports, and giving evidence alongside the other expert.
Urgent affidavits
Fast tracing and affidavit evidence to support freezing orders and disclosure applications.
Independent, and written for the court
An expert's duty is to the court, not to whoever is paying. My reports are written to the expert codes of conduct that apply where the matter is heard, including Schedule 4 of the High Court Rules in New Zealand and the Federal Court's Expert Evidence Practice Note in Australia, with the equivalent state court and family law rules.
That means stating my qualifications and the limits of my expertise, setting out every assumption, showing how each conclusion was reached, and saying where the evidence runs out. Every transaction in a report has its ID, so the other side can check the work themselves. I act for prosecution and defence, applicants and respondents.
The tracing runs on software I built in-house, so I can explain exactly how any wallet was attributed or any hop was followed. There's no vendor black box to be cross-examined about.
How to instruct me
First call
A short conversation about the matter and its deadlines, plus a conflict check.
Letter of instruction
You set out the questions for the expert and send the material you hold.
Scope and fee estimate
A written scope, timeline and fee estimate before any work starts.
Analysis
Tracing, attribution and valuation, documented as the work is done.
Report
A signed expert report written to the applicable code of conduct, with a plain-English summary.
Evidence
Conferral or a joint report with the other expert if needed, then evidence in person or by video link.
Fees and turnaround
For Australian matters, hourly rates typically range from $300 to $500 AUD plus GST. A scoped expert report is usually $5,000 to $25,000 depending on the volume of transactions and the questions asked, with court attendance on top. Every engagement starts with a written fee estimate.
A recent ACT Supreme Court report took about three weeks from instruction to final report. Urgent work, such as tracing ahead of a freezing order application, can be prioritised.
For a longer read on admissibility, reports and cross-examination, see my guide to crypto expert witnesses in Australia.
Expert witness questions
What kinds of cases need a crypto expert witness?
Any matter where cryptocurrency, digital assets or blockchain technology is in issue: criminal prosecutions and defences, civil and commercial disputes, family property cases, estates, insolvency, tax disputes, regulatory and enforcement matters, and insurance claims. If you're not sure whether the crypto side of a matter needs an expert, ask; a short call usually settles it.
Can you act as a single expert in a Family Court matter?
Yes. Family courts in Australia and New Zealand often prefer one expert instructed by both parties, and I can be instructed that way. A single expert works for the court, not either party, so both sides get the same report at the same time.
Do you act for both prosecution and defence?
Yes. I've been instructed by the Crown in New Zealand and by the defence in Australia. An expert who only ever works for one side is easy to attack on independence, and my duty is to the court either way.
Can you advise us without giving evidence?
Yes. As a consulting expert I can advise counsel behind the scenes: what to ask for in discovery, whether the crypto evidence stacks up, and what to put to the other side's expert. That advice isn't intended to go before the court.
Can you review the other side's expert report?
Yes. I test the methods, assumptions and conclusions in the other expert's report, check their tracing against the blockchain, and prepare a reply report if you need one.
Do you cover DeFi, NFTs and smart contracts?
Yes. Evidence often has to explain what a smart contract or protocol actually did, who controlled it, and where value moved, including through decentralised exchanges, bridges, lending protocols and NFT marketplaces.
Can you give evidence remotely?
Yes. I've given evidence by audio-visual link, for example in the NZ Disputes Tribunal, and I can attend in person when the court requires it.
How much does a crypto expert witness cost?
For Australian matters, hourly rates typically range from $300 to $500 AUD plus GST, and a scoped expert report is usually $5,000 to $25,000 depending on complexity, with court attendance on top. You get a written scope and fee estimate before any work starts.
How long does an expert report take?
It depends on the volume of transactions and the questions asked. As a guide, a recent ACT Supreme Court matter took about three weeks from instruction to final report. Tell me your court deadlines at the first call and I'll say straight away whether they're workable.
Do you take instructions from the United States?
Yes. US instructions are handled through Crypto Consulting USA, for American law firms and clients.
What do you need to get started?
A short summary of the matter, the parties (for a conflict check), the questions you want answered, any court deadlines, and whatever crypto information you already hold: exchange statements, wallet addresses or transaction IDs.
Read next
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