On July 1, 2024, Bill No. 107, titled the "Markets in Crypto-Assets Bill" (the "Bill") was discussed in the plenary session in the Maltese parliament. The Bill proposes necessary amendments to the Virtual Financial Assets ("VFA") Act to align with the EU Markets in Crypto Assets ("MiCA") regulation. These amendments will streamline the existing framework with the comprehensive rules established by MiCA, ensuring consistency and coherence in the regulatory landscape for crypto-assets.
MiCA will apply directly to all EU Member States setting a uniform standard for the crypto-assets market across the Union as from 30 December 2024.
Malta is a pioneer in the regulation of crypto-assets and crypto-asset service providers and in the implementation of MiCA. In fact, Malta's VFA framework is already considerably aligned with MiCA, especially following the recent VFA Act amendment. The Bill aims to further cement this alignment, establishing a comprehensive framework governing the issuance and trading of crypto-assets outlining the requirements for public offerings and the admission to trading of various crypto-assets, including:
- Asset-Referenced Tokens ("ART"s): tokens whose value is pegged to one or more assets like commodities or fiat currencies.
- Other Crypto-Assets: various forms of digital assets that do not fall into the previous categories but require regulation.
- E-Money Tokens ("EMT"s): tokens that represent fiat money and are used for payment transactions.
The Bill also introduces amendments to the Banking Act to include references to MiCA and the issue of EMTs and ARTs as well as the provision of crypto-asset services to the list of additional activities that entities authorised under the Banking Act may undertake.
In addition, the Bill sets the tone for the necessary conditions to be fulfilled by crypto-asset service providers, thus ensuring they operate within a robust legal framework.
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