[2018-06-30] Malta Now “Blockchain Island” After Passing Three Blockchain Bills

[Thadeous]

Malta Now “Blockchain Island” After Passing Three Blockchain Bills

Malta became the first country in the world to pass cryptocurrency and blockchain bills that are favorable to the crypto community.

The Maltese Parliament passed three cryptocurrency and blockchain bills into law on Tuesday, thus becoming one of the most attractive places for blockchain startups. The bills were proposed by Silvio Schembri, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, and were passed with unanimous votes.

The new laws regulate initial coin offering (ICOs), cryptocurrencies, and the businesses practices for launching a crypto-oriented company in Malta. Schembri tweeted after the parliamentary vote:

    Today Maltese Parliament unanimously approved 3 bills on DLT/blockchain, a 1st in the World. Honored to have driven these bills. Announced that Mr Stephen McCarthy will be the CEO of the new #Malta Digital Innovation Authority. #BlockchainIsland -SS
    — Silvio Schembri (@SilvioSchembri) June 26, 2018

The three bills are as follows:

    The Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFA) – This law touches upon ICOs, which are a new form of fundraising. The law stipulates that startups looking to conduct ICOs have to come up with white papers that describe in detail the whole project, a practice that is currently followed by most startups. Also, ICO firms will have to publish their financial history.
    The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act – the second law regulates the crypto and blockchain market and sets up a new regulatory entity called the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA). The body will be led by a Board of Governors and a CEO. The first CEO of the new authority is Stephen McCarthy.
    Technology Arrangements and Services Bill – the third law discusses the registration and licensing procedures for blockchain service providers. It also addresses the registration of a crypto exchange on Malta’s territory. Crypto watchers hope that this law will attract major crypto exchanges from around the world.

Malta has been known as an ideal destination for crypto and blockchain startups even before these bills were passed into laws. Several major players in the industry, including Binance and OKEx, have established offices in Malta.

At the beginning of this month, we reported that Malta was running with its blockchain trial for credentials. If the experiment succeeds, it might be extended at the national level to reach all areas of the education system and let the 400,000 residents store their educational records on a blockchain platform.

Source: https://cryptovest.com/news/malta-now-blockchain-island-after-passing-three-blockchain-bills

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[Lucius]

Malta has been working for some time on this, and I'm glad they're finally become “Blockchain Island”. No doubt this will will attract many foreign investors in the country, some of them are already there like Binance exchange which has great plans for their company.

This will also be good test for others EU countries, since Malta is very small island all the advantages and possible disadvantages will be clearly visible. I think other countries should also go in this direction, it does not make sense to fight against emerging technologies-the future knocks on the door and that door should be wide open.

[gentlemand]

About time too. No matter what any government's feelings are about this, it's prudent to put some sort of framework in place.

But the real litmus test is when Malta comes under pressure from larger jurisdictions if they become a full on crypto hive, particularly banking relationships. Nothing exists in a vacuum and Malta will fold if their arm is twisted.

[acheampong64]

Lol..wow! and I wonder why people say blockchain and crypto will collapse. This future technology is going to be awesome. I'm so happy to be a part now. Very soon the superpowers will follow suit

[Thadeous]

Malta has been working for some time on this, and I'm glad they're finally become “Blockchain Island”. No doubt this will will attract many foreign investors in the country, some of them are already there like Binance exchange which has great plans for their company.

This will also be good test for others EU countries, since Malta is very small island all the advantages and possible disadvantages will be clearly visible. I think other countries should also go in this direction, it does not make sense to fight against emerging technologies-the future knocks on the door and that door should be wide open.

Yeah, “Blockchain Island” sounds good for Malta. There is definitely some mystery relation between islands and Blockchain technology
That's probably why crypto is so popular on islands like Japan and Philippines.

I think that future Malta's place in crypto world can be compared to Switzerland's one in the world of finance.

[SventraPapere]

Malta is great. The sea, sun, good weather. The only thing that the island is small and there is not enough space for everyone. So now the first to move in large companies such as Binace, and others will look for another places with the same attractive laws. Most likely it will be the same small countries as Malta. I think we'll hear about them soon.

[Kemarit]

Malta has been working for some time on this, and I'm glad they're finally become “Blockchain Island”. No doubt this will will attract many foreign investors in the country, some of them are already there like Binance exchange which has great plans for their company.

Correct, they started this about a few years ago and never look back eventhough that there's a lot of negativity towards crypto and bitcoin in particular. Maybe this island saw that they can really take advantage of being involved in crypto unlike other country which is totally against it. Binance and OKEx already move in Malta paving the way for other crypto exchange under government pressure to follow suit as well.

This will also be good test for others EU countries, since Malta is very small island all the advantages and possible disadvantages will be clearly visible. I think other countries should also go in this direction, it does not make sense to fight against emerging technologies-the future knocks on the door and that door should be wide open.

I'm not sure though about other EU countries, but I'm sure that its on their radar and perhaps looking at how Malta will take advantage and even make their economy turn for the better. Let's see how it goes in the future.

[Thadeous]

Malta Passes Blockchain Bills Into Law, ‘Confirming Malta as the Blockchain Island’

The Parliament of Malta has passed three bills into law that establish a regulatory framework for blockchain technology, local news outlet Malta Today reported July 4. The bills include the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act, the Innovative Technological Arrangement and Services Act, and the Virtual Financial Asset Act.