The Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”)
published a set of guidelines (the “Guidelines”) on the
23rd June 2023, with the aim to aid FinTech companies understand
how non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) fit within the Maltese
Virtual Financial Assets (“VFAs”) regime.
Following the Consultation that was held between the 5th
December 2022 until the 6th January 2023, the Authority drew up
these Guidelines. The scope of the Consultation document was for
the Authority to obtain stakeholder feedback in relation to the
exclusion of NFTs from the VFA framework. The MFSA highlights that
the typical features borne by NFTs, which are its uniqueness and
lack of interchangeability, do not allow the freedom for such
assets to be used for investment or payment purposes. It was also
noted that such assets go against the nature of the VFA Act, which
is to regulate investment-type services offered in relation to VFAs
that fall outside the remit of the traditional financial
