Named experts · Practitioner profile
About Michael
Michael Gilson is a Partner in Davis Polk's Mergers & Acquisitions practice in New York, elected partner in July 2022. He advises US and international corporate and private equity clients on public and private transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, spinoffs, restructurings, and special-committee representations. He led Davis Polk's representation of CoreWeave on its USD 9 billion all-stock acquisition of crypto miner Core Scientific — the largest crypto-asset M&A transaction of 2025.
Editor's note
Lead M&A partner on the largest crypto acquisition of 2025 — CoreWeave's USD 9bn all-stock take-out of Core Scientific. Davis Polk's go-to deal counsel for crypto-adjacent transactions.
Practice fields
Credentials
- Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell — Mergers & Acquisitions
- Law360 Rising Star in M&A (2025)
- Lead M&A counsel on CoreWeave / Core Scientific USD 9bn acquisition
Jurisdictions
Sources
Every entry on this page is sourced from public records. The references below are the evidence base for the practitioner's expertise claims.
Relevant guides
Knowledge-base coverage that overlaps with Michael's practice (United States · Crypto M&A, Non-EU crypto).
DeFi · MiCA scope · 2026 ESMA review
DeFi Under MiCA 2026 — What's Regulated and What Isn't
MiCA covers crypto-asset services 'on behalf of clients' — which catches centralised custody, exchange, and trading platforms but leaves gen…
Crypto custody licence · Comparison
Crypto Custody Licence: Jurisdictions Compared (2026)
A crypto custody licence is not one licence. Under MiCA it is a CASP Class 2 authorisation; in the US a state trust charter or SPDI; in Asia…
Crypto exchange licence · Comparison
Crypto Exchange License: Jurisdictions Compared (2026)
A crypto exchange licence is not one licence. It is six or seven different regimes — MiCA, VARA, MAS, SFC, FCA, FINMA, and the US state-by-s…
US crypto licensing · Comparison
US Crypto Licensing: State MTLs, FinCEN MSB, BitLicense
There is no federal US crypto licence. A firm serving US users typically needs state-by-state money-transmitter licences across every state …
Hungary · MNB · CASP authorisation
Hungary MNB CASP Authorisation 2026 — Practitioner Guide
Hungary designated the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) as the MiCA supervisor via 2024 amendments to the Investment Services Act. MNB applies one …
MiCA Article 75 · Custody safeguarding
MiCA Article 75 Crypto Custody — Segregation and Safeguarding
MiCA Article 75 sets the operational rulebook for CASP custody of client crypto-assets — segregation, ledger accuracy, bankruptcy-remoteness…