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).
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…
MiCA scope edges · DeFi · staking · DLT Pilot · Article 60 · reverse solicitation · MiFID II line
The Edges of MiCA Scope 2026 — DeFi, Staking, DLT Pilot, Article 60, Reverse Solicitation
Where MiCA's perimeter actually sits — the DeFi carve-out, staking and lending, the DLT Pilot Regime boundary, the Article 60 bank track, re…
EU jurisdictional comparison
Best EU Jurisdiction for MiCA CASP in 2026: A Practical Comparison
Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Malta, Ireland — six EU member states actively process MiCA CASP files in 2026, and they differ …
MiCA · CASP operations & lifecycle
CASP Operations and Lifecycle 2026 — MiCA Passport, Banking, Wind-Down
The CASP passport under MiCA Article 65 went operational in late 2024 — but a working passport is one part of running an authorised CASP. Th…
Cyprus vs Malta · CASP comparison
Cyprus vs Malta CASP License 2026 — CySEC vs MFSA Guide
Cyprus vs Malta for a MiCA CASP licence — both grant authorisation with EU passport, both small English-language EU jurisdictions. The real …