Malta New Crypto Laws Haven’t Been Enforced Yet

On July 4, Malta officially approved three new bills that are set to regulate the country’s cryptocurrency and blockchain space, making it the first successful attempt by a government to regulate the industry.  

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

The bills – Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act, the Innovative Technological Arrangement and Services Act, and the Virtual Financial Asset Act – are set to turn Malta to the most cryptocurrency-friendly nation in the world; hence, the country is dubbed ‘Blockchain Island.’

But these malta new crypto laws have not come into effect yet, according to an official announcement on Friday by the Malta Financial Service Authority (MFSA).

“The Virtual Financial Assets Act (‘the Act’) has been enacted by Parliament on 4 July 2018 and has today been published on the Laws of Malta website. Notwithstanding that the Act has been published, it is not yet in force and will take effect on such date as the Minister for Digital Economy may establish by notice in the Government Gazette.”

The ‘the Act’ has not taken effect yet because the Maltese government is still trying to develop the “Virtual Financial Assets Framework,” which will serve as a complement to the Act.  As long as the framework remains non-operational, the MFSA cannot receive approval requests and authorizations under the Act.

According to the announcement, the bills will not take effect until a time when the Minister for Digital Economy may give such notice. However, updates about the development of the Virtual Financial Assets Framework will be made available to the public on the official MFSA website.

Whether the malta new crypto laws take effect sooner or later, the country remains one of the world’s friendliest location for crypto-related businesses and has welcomed some of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance and OKEx.

Just last week, it was reported that Binance would be partnering with other investors to launch a ‘Founders Bank’ for cryptocurrency investors in Malta. The exchange is investing $155 million at the inception of the first global decentralized community-owned bank.

Silvio Schembri, Malta’s Junior minister for financial services, digital economy and innovation, expressed delight for the new bank coming to the country.

I am delighted to see #BlockchainIsland companies collaborate. @binance just announced its support for community-owned @foundersbankorg which will provides progressive fintech solutions and soon its #STO on @neufundorg https://t.co/5LIiOuU3PP

— Silvio Schembri (@SilvioSchembri) July 12, 2018