Yesha Yadav is a legal scholar and professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, where she holds the Milton R. Underwood Chair. Her expertise covers financial market regulation, securities law, and corporate bankruptcy, with research focusing on both traditional financial systems and emerging digital asset markets. ^{[1] [2]}

Education

Yadav earned a Master of Arts in Law and Modern Languages from the University of Cambridge, where she graduated with First Class honors. She later attended Harvard Law School, where she obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.). Her studies at Harvard focused on financial and capital markets regulation, payment systems, and terrorist financing. ^{[1] [2]}

Career

Yadav began her legal career in 2004 at the international law firm Clifford Chance, working in its London and Paris offices. During her tenure until 2008, she was an attorney in the financial regulation and derivatives group. A key project during this period involved advising the European Payments Council on the establishment of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), an initiative designed to integrate domestic payment systems across Europe to make cross-border euro payments equivalent to domestic ones. ^{[3] [2]}

In 2009, she transitioned to the public sector, joining the World Bank as a legal counsel. She worked within the finance, private sector development, and infrastructure unit, where her specialization included financial regulation, insolvency, and creditor-debtor rights. ^[1]

Yadav entered academia in 2011, joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University Law School. As a Professor of Law and the Milton R. Underwood Chair, her teaching and research center on financial market regulation, securities law, and corporate bankruptcy. Her scholarship examines market structure, exchange design, and payment systems for both traditional and digital assets. Her research interests include the regulation of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, distressed debt and corporate restructuring, and risk management in both centralized (CeFi) and decentralized (DeFi) financial markets. In addition to her teaching and research, Yadav holds several administrative roles at Vanderbilt, including Associate Dean and Robert Belton Director of Culture and Community, as well as Faculty Co-Director of the LL.M. Program. ^{[2] [3]}

Advisory and Public Service Roles

Throughout her career, Yadav has served in numerous advisory and public service capacities for regulatory bodies and commissions in the United States and internationally. Her roles have included:

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): Served as a member of the Technology Advisory Committee. Within this committee, she was the Vice-Chair (or Co-Chair) of the Distributed Ledger Technology Subcommittee and a member of the Algorithmic Trading Subcommittee.
• U.S. Senate: Provided expert testimony on digital asset regulation before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
• Nasdaq: Serves as a member of the Hearing Panel.
• Digital Dollar Project: Sits on the Board of Advisors.
• Financial Services Law Reform Commission (India): Acted as an honorary advisor.
• Atlantic Council: Participated in the Task Force on Divergence and the Transatlantic Financial Reform and G-20 Agenda.
• U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Served as Vice-Chair of the Tennessee State Advisory Committee.

These appointments reflect her engagement in shaping policy and regulation across financial markets. ^{[2] [1]}

Views and Analysis

Yadav is a frequent commentator on issues related to financial regulation, market structure, and digital assets, offering analysis through academic publications, public presentations, and media interviews.

On Cryptocurrency Regulation and Exchanges

Yadav has extensively analyzed the regulatory challenges posed by the cryptocurrency industry. In a November 2023 interview with CNBC regarding the U.S. government's settlement with the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, she described the event as a "significant shift." She argued that the settlement, which included a guilty plea from its CEO for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, would force major changes to Binance's governance and compliance and put other exchanges, particularly those operating offshore, "on notice" to prioritize U.S. regulatory compliance. Yadav expressed concern that the U.S. was lagging behind jurisdictions like the European Union and Singapore in establishing a clear regulatory framework for crypto, warning that this could lead to a "race to the bottom" in international standards that undermines customer protection and market integrity. ^{[4] [3]}

In a May 2024 talk at the UCSB-ECON DeFi Seminar, Yadav addressed what she termed the "centralization paradox" in crypto markets. She argued that while traditional exchanges perform a vital self-regulatory function to oversee markets, major crypto exchanges often lack effective oversight, creating the potential for harmful practices, as exemplified by the collapse of FTX. She posited that while self-regulation among crypto exchanges is a necessary first step toward market accountability, it is insufficient without formal, overarching regulatory frameworks. She advocated for enhancing oversight by engaging exchanges as responsible participants in the regulatory landscape to foster a safer trading environment. ^{[4] [1]}

On Digital Currencies and Payments

In a May 2023 CNBC interview, Yadav discussed a co-authored research paper on stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). She argued that these technologies could significantly enhance the U.S. payment system by making it more efficient, faster, and more inclusive, particularly for unbanked and underbanked populations. Yadav highlighted that the U.S. payment infrastructure lags behind innovations in countries like Brazil and India, and that stablecoins and CBDCs could address issues such as high transaction costs and slow processing times. She stressed, however, that realizing these benefits requires "thoughtful regulation" to mitigate the risks associated with new financial technologies while ensuring the safety of the financial system. ^{[4] [3]}

On Traditional Financial Markets

Yadav has also provided critical analysis of traditional financial systems, particularly the U.S. Treasury market. During a January 2023 appearance on the Macro Hive Conversations podcast, she characterized the Treasury trading market as "fundamentally broken." While the underlying U.S. Treasury bonds are considered free from default risk, she argued that the market's trading infrastructure has become fragile. She attributed this fragility to the significant shift toward automation and high-frequency trading that occurred after the 2008 financial crisis, which has led to poor liquidity and market depth. Yadav noted that macroeconomic pressures, such as inflation and rising interest rates, have exacerbated these structural weaknesses. She advocated for enhanced transparency and more systematic safeguards to improve the market's resilience, expressing skepticism about the stability of its current structure. ^{[4] [1]}

Awards and Recognition

Yadav has received several awards in recognition of her research and teaching.

• Vanderbilt University’s Chancellor Research Award (2022): Awarded for her research on the regulation of U.S. Treasury markets.
• Vanderbilt University Chancellor Faculty Fellow (2019–2021): A fellowship recognizing outstanding faculty members.
• Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Award (2020): A student-selected award for excellence in teaching, which she has won on two occasions.

These honors highlight her contributions to both legal scholarship and education. ^{[2] [1]}

Selected Publications

Yadav has authored numerous articles in leading law journals. Her publications include:

• "The Failed Regulation of U.S. Treasury Markets," 121 Columbia Law Review 1173 (2021)
• "Oversight Failure in Securities Markets," 104 Cornell Law Review 1799 (2019)
• "Too Big to Fail Shareholders," 103 Minnesota Law Review 587 (2019)
• "Fintech and the Innovation Trilemma," 107 Georgetown Law Journal 235 (2019) (with Chris Brummer)
• "Insider Trading and Market Structure," 63 UCLA Law Review 968 (2016)
• "The Failure of Liability in Modern Markets," 102 Virginia Law Review 1031 (2016)
• "How Algorithmic Trading Undermines Efficiency in Capital Markets," 68 Vanderbilt Law Review 1607 (2015)
• "Insider Trading in Derivatives Markets," 103 Georgetown Law Journal 381 (2015)
• "The Case for a Market in Debt Governance," 67 Vanderbilt Law Review 771 (2014)
• "The Problematic Case of Clearinghouses in Complex Markets," 101 Georgetown Law Journal 387 (2013)

This body of work contributes to legal and regulatory discourse on financial markets. ^[2]