The Maltese authorities have announced this week that they will be putting forward a total of three separate legal bills for public consultation over the coming three weeks, all of which are focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency legislation. Following this public consultation, the bills will be sent to Parliament for further scrutiny and debate.
These are all part of Malta’s stated aim to become a country at the forefront of full blockchain regulation. Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri has stated that these bills will assist Malta in its goal of becoming a “world leader in economic innovation”. He also intimated that the blockchain industry, taken as a whole, might be larger than the entire igaming industry within five years.
The first of these is the MDIA bill, which proposes the creation of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority. The MDIA would act as a regulatory authority for blockchain innovations and for distributed ledger technologies (DLT) in general and is designed to “promote government policy that favours the development of Malta as a hub for new and innovative technologies”. This is also intended to encourage cryptocurrency developers to feel supported in sourcing their new projects out of Malta. The MDIA will ensure transparency, as well as liaising with other states’ jurisdictions in order to ensure strong standards for international coordination.
The TAS bill, on the other hand, is designed to facilitate the registration of technology service providers (TSPs) and the certification of “technology arrangements.” This will allow auditors and administrators of DLT technologies to become officially registered and will offer legally recognised certification for DLT platform management.
Finally, the VC bill puts forward a proposed regulatory framework for the launching of initial coin offerings (ICOs), often set up as a means of initial fundraising after the creation of a new digital currency. The bill also provides infrastructure for the operations of virtual currency intermediaries, including exchanges and brokers, wallet providers, and investment advisors specialising in cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
In summation, these three bills set out to provide regulation for three different kinds of DLT platform – exclusively private platforms, private platforms designed for use by third parties, and public platforms such as Bitcoin itself. As Silvio Schembri stated on Friday, “The purpose of these laws will be to provide legal certainty to a space that is currently unregulated”.
For most countries who do not opt to outright ban cryptocurrencies, we can expect to see similar moves to come in the years ahead. Malta is, in that sense, simply one step ahead when it comes to crypto.
