The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) stated in a press release that blockchain companies must now wait until a freshly adopted legal framework is in place prior to applying for authorizations and approvals, as the Times of Malta noted.
In a declaration recently released, the MFSA announced that it is currently working on a new framework that will back up newly enacted blockchain regulations so that operators should wait until the agency announces a public notice before applying for permits and authorizations.
The Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFAA), which the Parliament of Malta approved on July 5th, will govern general Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). With this new regulation, Malta is the first nation in the world to provide legal security for blockchain businesses.
The Times of Malta reports that in the last few weeks the MSFA has been reviewing stakeholders’ views on the proposed new blockchain regulations, and examining a number of concerns regarding the VFAA, ranging from fees to management penalties.
Malta to become the world’s first blockchain technology nation
Also, MFSA is allegedly conducting inquiries into a so-called law book of standards for the newly adopted legislation, the first of which is open through the end of July. The MFSA will subsequently release two additional sections, which will cover the issuers and service suppliers of the VFAA. By the end of the period of consultation, MFSA will issue the final blockchain regulations and guidelines for the VFAA to allow for the implementation of the new rules.
Malta now aims to establish a crypto-friendly environment and develop into a “blockchain island.” A number of crypto and blockchain businesses have been set up in Malta, such as the cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets Binance, OKex, and BitBay.
Binance, at the beginning of this month, reported its intention to launch a bank built on a token-owned blockchain. The forthcoming Founders Bank is to be the property of digital token investors and is to be headquartered in Malta and aims to be the world’s first decentralized, community-owned bank.
