Malta announced that it would be approving three parliamentary Cryptocurrency bills that will be sure to cement their place as the forward-thinking leaders in blockchain cryptocurrency worldwide. The bills that were passed were the Digital Innovation Authority Act, the Innovative Technological Arrangement, and Service Act and lastly the Virtual Finance Asset Act.

Maltese President Joseph Muscat is proving to be a visionary on establishing a strong blockchain economy that provides stability for related platform and businesses involved. His Parliamentary Secretary of Digital Innovation and Finance, Silvio Schembri went on record as saying “This is the last stage of the legislation that will put Malta on the map for blockchain and crypto regulation. There is political consensus on this roadmap, and we are foreseeing that this area will be the mainstay of our economic growth for the next 4 – 5 years.”

Malta’s fast becoming the Blockchain Island

In May 2017 started laying solid foundations by that would see them becoming the nucleus of blockchain platforms businesses. They aimed to be on the frontline and leaders in embracing Blockchain and Bitcoin.

As they create a more steady and secure environment for operations involved in Blockchain business, we have seen more and more starting to set up office in Malta. In March this year the largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance relocated to the island. Okex quickly followed. Bitbay also followed shortly thereafter. They site the blockchain and crypto-friendly environment as reasons for the move.

May saw the announcement by the Maltese Transport Minister that they would be teaming up with the UK based Omnitude, a middleware blockchain start up, to improve the islands transport system using Omnitudes distributed ledger technology.

Malta has long been a haven for Gaming Houses, and now they have released a guideline document based on blockchain and cryptocurrency applications in the industry. This would ensure games using blockchain technology and cryptocurrency were of the highest standards in every respect of gaming.

Lastly, in the pursuit of becoming a complete blockchain based society, the Maltese government have also started looking into how this platform can be used to keep track of academic records.

How does this move benefit Malta?

The Maltese government firmly believe that cryptocurrency is the economy of the future and will form the base of a new economy. By establishing themselves early on as forward thinking and embracing of this modern crypto-economy, they can develop well thought out and practiced systems to accommodate it, which will draw more businesses to set up there. We have already seen the early move of some big players, as mentioned earlier and this has seen the creation of employment on a small scale but is set to increase as more companies move to this dynamic little island. Along with comes economy spin-off that will help the economy to achieve and maintain a robust economic status quo.

Malta is in the process of creating a structured framework that is attracting blockchain businesses. This will hopefully help insulate it from any digital fallout that could happen further afield.

Investors

It is safe to say that with these Maltese bills being passed more investors are going to be paying close attention to the climate in Malta. Market leaders that were first to put roots in Malta will be scrutinized by other investors interested in moving across the waters. Already the likes of Berlin-based Blockchain firm, Neufund said they were interested in moving across. The Abyss, a gaming platform that uses incentives to gamers to earn cryptocurrency has announced they too would be set up in Malta in the future.

Other investors are keeping a close eye on Malta and its progressive marketplace. It is expected that it is set to grow substantially and investors that are interested but still sitting on the fence, such as US-based Blockchain company Tron, will soon be making a home on the island.

Conclusion

While it is still early days, it seems that Malta is unwavering in its dedication and support of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency. The setting out of frameworks and regulations will undoubtedly provide an atmosphere of stability and certainty in what can sometimes be a volatile marketplace.