Cadena Legal

Cadena Legal is a boutique Australian law firm specializing in tax and commercial law with a strong focus on the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Founded in 2022 by renowned tax lawyer Harrison Dell, the firm has rapidly established itself as Australia's leading advisor for digital assets and blockchain businesses.

Core Services

Cadena Legal provides comprehensive legal solutions across six key practice areas:

Crypto & Blockchain Tax and Legal Services: As pioneers in cryptocurrency taxation, the firm offers cutting-edge advice for digital asset investors and businesses. Their expertise includes international structuring for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), ATO rulings and private rulings for crypto products, tax strategies for high-volume traders and founders, and complex tax advisory for blockchain-based businesses.

Australian Tax Advisory and Disputes: The firm delivers creative tax strategies for private businesses, high-net-worth families, and individuals. Services include property development structuring, merger and acquisition tax support, small business CGT relief, and tax dispute resolution with the ATO.

International Tax Structuring: Cadena Legal provides sophisticated cross-border tax planning, leveraging international tax frameworks to minimize global tax exposure. Their international practice includes inbound and outbound investment structuring, tax residency planning for individuals and corporations, and international investment structures for private groups.

Corporate and Commercial Law: The commercial law team, led by Director Alex Papafotiou, handles entity formation and business structuring, mergers and acquisitions support, capital raising documentation, and international corporate matters including foreign entity formation.

Financial Services Tax and Legal: Specializing in fund and fintech structuring, the firm advises on managed investment trusts, venture capital funds, payment platforms, digital financial services, and regulatory compliance for innovative financial products.

Novel Business Structuring: Cadena Legal navigates complex regulatory frameworks for emerging industries including medical cannabis operations, iGaming and digital entertainment, and cross-border operations in evolving regulatory environments.

Key Strengths

The firm's unique positioning stems from several competitive advantages. Founder Harrison Dell brings insider knowledge from his time at the Australian Taxation Office, where he worked as an auditor and in internal legal advisory roles. The team combines deep technical tax knowledge with a thorough understanding of blockchain technology and digital assets.

Cadena Legal has secured landmark tax rulings for crypto businesses, including a successful ATO private ruling for Vield's crypto lending product that confirmed no CGT trigger for customers. The firm actively engages with government on crypto tax policy, making detailed submissions to Treasury on the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and the Board of Tax crypto consultation.

The firm's founder Harrison Dell demonstrates thought leadership through multiple channels, maintaining a TikTok following of over 45,000 with 7+ million views explaining tax strategies. He is regularly quoted in the Australian Financial Review and other major publications. Dell also brings commercial expertise, having founded Jubi DAO (a smart contract token management platform that exited to BluBird in 2023) and Blacksheep (a payments technology business solving crypto on/off ramping issues).

Notable Achievements

The firm has established strong relationships within the crypto ecosystem, serving as advisor to CryptoTaxCalculator and working with major crypto exchanges, market makers, and DeFi protocols. Their client base includes crypto traders and investors, blockchain startups and protocols, financial services businesses, multinational corporations, high-net-worth families, and professional service providers including accountants, lawyers, and fund managers.

Cadena Legal operates with an integrated service model, seamlessly combining tax law expertise with commercial law capabilities to provide comprehensive business solutions. The firm maintains strong international networks, collaborating with legal teams worldwide to support cross-border operations.

Why Choose Cadena Legal

Businesses and individuals choose Cadena Legal for their innovative approach to complex tax and legal challenges. The firm prides itself on delivering practical, commercially-focused solutions rather than cookie-cutter advice. Their expertise spans both traditional tax law and emerging technologies, positioning them uniquely to advise on the intersection of blockchain, crypto, and taxation. With a proven track record in securing favorable ATO outcomes and structuring tax-efficient international operations, Cadena Legal has become the go-to firm for sophisticated clients operating at the cutting edge of finance and technology.