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Malta Seeks to Change Its Crypto Rulebook to Get Ready for MiCA

The country's financial watchdog wants to align its framework with EU-wide rules set to take effect in 2024.

By Camomile Shumba, Jack Schickler|Edited by Sandali Handagama

Updated Sep 18, 2023, 11:06 a.m. Published Sep 18, 2023, 11:03 a.m.

Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA) is consulting the public on proposed changes to its rulebook for crypto companies starting Monday.

The regulator is re-writing rules for exchanges, custodians and portfolio managers to fit those set out in the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA), and wants to require crypto providers to have "an orderly wind-down plan."

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MiCA, which takes effect in 2024, represents the world’s first comprehensive crypto regulation in a major jurisdiction, allowing service providers to operate across the bloc with a single license. As an EU member, Malta wants to align its crypto rules with MiCA and "ensure a smooth transition for Virtual Financial Assets (‘VFA’) Service Providers" in the country, the regulator said in its consultation.

Malta sits alongside countries like France in having a relatively sophisticated legal regime that anticipates EU norms, and is home to crypto firms such as Crypto.com and OKCoin. The consultation is open until Sept. 29.

Regulations Crypto Malta

Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. Previously, Shumba interned at Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured in Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner. Shumba studied politics, philosophy and economics as a combined degree at the University of East Anglia before doing a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate degree she had an award-winning radio show on making a difference. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.

Jack Schickler

Jack Schickler was a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He previously wrote about financial regulation for news site MLex, before which he was a speechwriter and policy analyst at the European Commission and the U.K. Treasury. He doesn’t own any crypto.