Malta is the first European country to regulate blockchain-based companies by proposing a legislative framework which will make the country a leading jurisdiction in this area.
After a long public debate, the Maltese government has established a ‘one-stop-shop’ package of three key legislative developments. The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act. 2018 (MDIA Bill), the Innovation Technology Arrangements and Services Act. 2018 (ITAS Bill) and the Virtual Financial Assets Act. 2018 (VFA Bill).
The Virtual Financial Assets Bill (VFA) defines the licensing requirements for the provision of VFA services in relation to a Digital Ledger Technology Asset (DLT Asset). The Bill requires the validation of fundraising campaigns with a published white paper, containing information about the overall technological basis of projects and business plans.
The Malta Digital Innovation Bill establishes a recognised authority tasked with promoting industry-specific interests along with the responsibility to enforce government decisions on the matter.
The Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Bill forms the basis of the above-mentioned Bills and will act as the mechanism by which blockchain-based companies are recognised as such.
Cryptocurrencies are a hot topic across Europe and Malta aims to provide certainty about the future of VFA businesses. This will make the country the friendliest jurisdiction for these types of operations. After the announcement of the legislative package, cryptocurrency subject-matter experts commented that other countries will follow Malta in regulating the ‘future of money’ as it was referred to by Malta’s Prime Mister, Joseph Muscat.