Government’s commitment to establish a regulatory body on DLTs

Innovation and technology will be the main drivers of growth in the future. This is evident in the announcements that our regulators have made.

This was said by parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri when addressing the Blockchain and Bitcoin conference, which covers topics such as ICO holding, trends of the blockchain industry, development of cryptocurrencies and the challenges of legislative regulation of the fintech sector.

Schembri said that the MFSA issued a discussion paper on virtual currencies and the industry has until the beginning of next year to provide feedback about how it feels that the sector should be regulated. “The discussion paper will lead to a policy framework that supports virtual currencies and related technologies while ensuring effective protection for investors, financial markets and stability,” said Schembri.

During the conference Schembri also said that the Malta Gaming Authority has issued a call for interested parties to register and provide details on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and cryptocurrencies projects, all this with the aim of increasing efficiency, managing risks better, creating opportunities and improving people’s lives.

Schembri added that government is now actively looking at establishing a regulatory body for DLTs while ensuring to build a strong DLT ecosystem. “We want to make Malta your home,” said Schembri to the more than 350 delegates who attended the conference.

The Blockchain and Bitcoin conference is a series of international events which have been held in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev, Stockholm, Tallinn, Prague and now also Malta.