06.11.2018
In the past few days, on Thursday 1st November, Malta made a positive step in the FinTech world as the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) announced that the Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFAA) came into force. This Act was enacted by Parliament earlier this year on 4th July.
The Virtual Financial Assets Act regulates the field of Initial Virtual Financial Asset Offerings and Virtual Financial Assets with its main aim being to achieve investor protection.
The VFAA (Chapter 590 of the Laws of Malta), regulates the registration of whitepapers by Issuers of Virtual Financial Assets (‘VFAs’), VFA Service Providers and VFA Agents. In fact, the Act states that Initial VFA offerings and admission to trading on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) exchange can only be made with a registered whitepaper.
Apart from providing protection to investors, this Act also aims at ensuring and being in line with the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulation (PMLFTR).
As a way forward, in the coming weeks, MFSA will be launching its FinTech Strategy. In a Press Statement, Mr. Joseph Cuschieri, MFSA’s Chief Executive Officer expressed that this Strategy will “outline the Authority’s efforts towards supporting a paradigm shift in the way financial service providers interact with their customers and establishing a holistic and robust FinTech sector for both start-ups and industry incumbents”.
This move from part of the National Blockchain Strategy for Malta as a recognized financial centre for cryptocurrency and an attractive jurisdiction for setting up cryptocurrency companies. If you are interested in setting an ICO, Fairwinds Management Limited can help you. Contact our team on info@fairwindsmanagement.net for more info and a quote.