Malta – Virtual Financial Asset Services - The New Legislation

A. INTRODUCTION

Blockchain technology has revolutionized the way of doing business globally. In fact, similar to Investment Services, a number of ancillary business activities are now connected to the industry, ejecting the Blockchain technology to endless fields of everyday life.

Instead of shying away from the technological challenge, the Maltese government has adopted legislation that regulates the offering of certain services (known as Virtual Financial Asset Services) to cryptocurrencies, which includes the operation of platforms to exchange such cryptocurrencies, portfolio management and providing investment advice amongst others. This makes Malta a pioneer in this sector and offers legal certainty, to such an extent that following such a commitment from the Government, crypto-giants are already relocating to Malta, seeking to benefit from a regulated environment and a beneficial tax rate.