The parliament of Malta has officially passed three bills to provide legal certainty to cryptocurrency. These bills include the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act, the Innovative Technological Arrangement and Services Act, and the Virtual Financial Asset Act. By passing these acts, Malta became the pioneer amongst all the countries in the world in providing legal certainty to crypto.

These bills cover regulations for ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), guidelines for cryptocurrency operators who want to set up business in Malta, regulation of innovative technology arrangements and the role of the authorities and greater rules for cryptocurrency and blockchain.

This action by the parliament has led to the establishment of Malta as the ‘Blockchain Island’. Malta’s journey towards becoming the cryptocurrency hub began in May 2017 when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said,

“We must be on the frontline in embracing blockchain and Bitcoin…we must be the ones that others copy.’’

Also, a lot of major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, BitBay and OkEx have set up operations in Malta because of its friendly and welcoming attitude towards Blockchain and Cryptocurrency.

Shortly after the unanimous vote in favour of passing the bills, Silvio Schembri, Malta’s Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Innovation said that he was honoured to have driven these bills and thanked everyone who collaborated and supported in the process.

It is clear that for Malta, the incorporation and support of blockchain and cryptocurrency takes place on a national level and therefore, big scale nationwide measures are being taken to make it the ultimate hub for these industries.

Most of the responses towards the bills have been positive, but some people have expressed scepticism by saying that these bills might create a situation in which only the major players in the market will be able to operate from Malta.

In a world where most governments and countries are sceptics of cryptocurrency, Malta is the first fish in the pond to view the industry differently. These bills are expected to attract more platforms and will help both amplify the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry as well as Malta’s economy.

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