Malta Blockchain Summit: Crypto Island Rises To The Occasion!

It has been a few years since I was introduced to Malta while I was working in the Hedge fund industry. Back then, I was amazed at how Maltese such as Anabel Mifsud, the managing director at SGGG Fexserv Fund Services (Malta) Ltd, were helpful and kind solution seekers. A few years later, I witnessed that the Maltese government was slowly taking over the EU gaming industry by tackling the legal issues and offering an exceptional regulated marketplace.

Early 2018, I was fortunate enough to read one of Ian Gauchi’s articles and was intrigued by how MFSA was positioning itself towards blockchain and crypto assets. A few months later, I had a phone call with another great Maltese, Emanuel Malta Pulis, Founder & CEO of MBS, who told me how Malta Blockchain Summit was going to be one of the best Blockchain events.

After looking into most European jurisdictions, SwissBorg decided on Malta as our EU hub! How could we not? While many authorities are taking their time to draw their legislation or clarify the existing legal framework applicable to Blockchain, Malta is doing it! On November 1st, 2018, three new laws came into force that have been explored extensively by legal experts in the field: the Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Act (ITAS), the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act (MDIA) and the Virtual Financial Assets, or the VFA Act.

With a new DLT regulatory framework and an open old financial market framework, Malta has become the only jurisdiction in the European Union to embrace Blockchain enthusiastically. It is not a surprise to see that many projects are trying to establish a presence in Malta and conduct their activities from the Blockchain Island. The fact that the Malta Blockchain Summit takes place on the same date as the passing of crypto-friendly regulation is not a coincidence. The new regulatory framework is at the centre of the discussions, the panels, and the presentations. Perfect timing for the summit!

Ardian Balaj and I arrived Wednesday evening and went directly to the Intercontinental to check out the beautiful venue for drinks. We were amazed by the quality and enthusiasm of attendees, coming from all over the world to witness what was happening on the Blockchain Island.

For two action-packed days and evenings, we had the pleasure to meet great DAOs such as Naga, Pundi, TAAS, Bankex, and Iconomi. I enjoyed sharing ideas and discussing challenges, business models, the token economy, and community management, especially with the founder of NAGA, Benjamin Bilski, and my dear friend Russlan, the founder of TAAS.

It was great to spend time with leaders from crypto funds such Base 58 capital, Divergence Digital Currency Fund. Despite market conditions falling roughly 80 % since Jan 9th, fund managers were optimistic.

It was a pleasure to see other recent ICOs, such Chilliz that raised a 68M$ hard cap, show a strong presence in Malta. It was heartwarming to see that exchanges such Binance, OKeX, and ZB are, also, working rapidly to make Malta their EU hub.

Ardian Balaj of our legal team & Cyrus Fazel, our founder, in Malta

An essential aspect of establishing SwissBorg in Malta is to find the right staff to bring the SwissBorg Maltese entities to life. Ardian strode the conference talking to law firms, candidates and headhunters. Malta is a breeding ground for talent, be it in tech, legal or business. SwissBorg intends to recruit not only the minimum number required to operate in Malta but also, to tap into a local pool of competence that is familiar with Maltese approaches to conducting business. This trip to Malta is just a beginning; we have a long and exciting way to go to find candidates that not only, possess the skills, the competencies and the experience required, but candidates that share our mindset and our values and are ready to take on our eventful journey.

Many topics were covered by prominent guest speakers such as the prime minister of the Island, confirming Malta’s vision of becoming the key EU Blockchain Hub. On the dark side, Jon Mcafee discussed the intricacies of cybersecurity and the best ways of battling cyber criminality and Sophia the AI robot was going through an ICO process.

Conversations centred around upcoming STOs (Security Token Offerings). In this category, Blue Oceans, a Swiss Medtech fund, is an exciting project. Such influencers as Erik and Jean Etienne, Professors from the University of Malta, were present and we enjoyed speaking to Abdalla Kablan and Gordon about the possibility of collaboration on AML research, and about how the University was focusing on Blockchain technology and AI.

We look forward to seeing how SwissBorg can share research and hire students from this University.

The Pulis brothers were extremely interesting to meet. Eman is running the Malta Blockchain Summit and Dave is running the ZBx exchange. Both brothers are true visionaries and are pulling all strings to make Malta live up to her reputation of the Blockchain or Crypto Island.

We want to thank all the staff from Malta Blockchain Summit, especially Mario, for organising my favourite Blockchain event of the year (of course, if we don’t count BlockchainUnchained).