Malta is ‘The Blockchain Island of the Mediterranean’ after becoming the first country in the world to approve three bills that will regulate the entire space of blockchain and cryptocurrencies in favor of this industry.
The projects were proposed by Silvio Schemberi, Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation of the Parliament and approved by a unanimous vote. The new laws regulate ICOs, cryptocurrencies and business practices to form companies working in cryptocurrencies.
The 3 Bills that will regulate DLT have been approved by Parliament and enacted into law. Malta , the first world jurisdiction to provide legal certainty to this space. #blockchainisland @JosephMuscat_JM
— Silvio Schembri (@SilvioSchembri) July 4, 2018
On July 4th, 2018, the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed through Twitter that the parliament reaffirmed its decision to approve the three projects.
#Malta 🇲🇹 officially the first country worldwide to have holistic legislative framework regulating #blockchain & #DLT technologies. We will be the #global hub for market leaders in this new sector. Now for the implementation of #BlockchainIsland -JM @SilvioSchembri
— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) July 4, 2018
The three laws approved in Malta:
- Virtual Financial Assets Law: regulates the application of ICOs as a new way of raising funds. It stipulates that startups seeking to work with ICOs must present a report that describes in detail the entire project, a practice that is normally applied among startups. Additionally, ICO firms must publish their financial history.
- Digital Innovation Authority Law: regulates the cryptocurrency and blockchain market and establishes a new regulatory entity called the Malta Digital Innovation Authority, to be lead by a Board of Governors and a CEO. The first CEO or appointed executive director is Stephen McCarthy.
- Arrangements and Technological Services Law: discusses the registration and procedures to obtain a license for service providers based on blockchain technology. It establishes the guidelines for the registration of an exchange in Maltese territory. It is expected that this law will attract large cryptocurrency exchange houses around the world.
These regulations are framed within a national blockchain plan implemented in Malta in 2017, through which the government seeks the strategic adoption of blockchain for the development of Maltese territory. This has caused many big companies in the industry, such as Binance and OKEx, to move their headquarters to Malta and establish it as an operation site, qualifying their regulatory system as one of the friendliest.
