When it comes to crypto adoption, no country is quite as forward thinking as Malta. Just this past week Malta passed three new bills into law to regulate the Maltese crypto industry. This tiny island nestled in the heart of the Mediterranean has done this before with a slightly different industry – iGaming. Malta welcomed iGaming companies with open arms and tailor-made industry requirements that were miles ahead of the competition. We are proud to call Malta our home, and we can’t wait for more crypto firms to join us.
What are the Bills About?
In the space of two weeks, these three historic bills have passed from first reading into Maltese law. This has grabbed a lot of attention in the crypto world, prompting Binance, DQR, OKEx, and BitBay to move to Malta – welcome to paradise as the old saying goes. These three bills are interesting for the crypto world in a couple of ways. The first being that a country is finally accepting crypto with open arms. This helps to regulate the space and make it a safer place for users and companies to operate, thanks to clear frameworks and government support. The second being what the bills are about.
The Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFA)
The VFA bill regulates Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and states that all projects that seek funding via an ICO must publish a White Paper. The White Paper needs to contain every tiny detail about the project, such as what the funds raised will be used for, how the technology works, what it will be used for, and so on. In addition to this, the White Paper must include the issuer’s entire financial history.
The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act (MDIA)
The MDIA bill means that a cryptocurrency and blockchain governing body will be created, and this body will be responsible for the development and implementation of the guiding principles described in this Act. The body will also be responsible for the promotion of consistent principles for the development of visions, skills, and other qualities relating to technology innovation – including distributed or decentralized technology.
The Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Act (ITASA)
The ITASA bill will be the mechanism by which blockchain-based enterprises are recognized under the law, and will provide the foundation for the other two bills to work. If one of the bills was more important than the others, it would be this one. This is the core foundation of Malta’s blockchain legislation.
Officials Already Being Appointed
Malta is excited to get these bills rolling and for more companies to start operating in the crypto industry here. With that being said, the MDIA – the new governing body of Malta’s blockchain paradise – has appointed its first CEO – Stephen McCarthy. Mr McCarthy worked in accountancy and iGaming before serving as CEO of the Housing Authority in the past few years, so he is more than qualified for this exciting role.
Exciting Implications
These new bills have some very exciting implications beyond the immediate crypto world – they give rights to autonomous robots, so they can potentially operate as legal citizens. This could be potentially game changing. As a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that is controlled by AI or smart contracts, it could then buy land, real estate, or anything else for that matter in all of the EU’s 27-member states.
As the DAO would be recognized as a legal citizen, it would therefore be a legal citizen in all of the EU’s member states and have to be treated with the same laws as a human. This is because of an EU treaty that states all member states are obliged to acknowledge the existence of legal entities or legal personas from other member states. This is very exciting considering the number of AI firms already operating within the blockchain space. This could mean soon cars have the same rights as humans!
