The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has Approved 14 of its First Crypto Asset
Reporting from Cointelegraph, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has approved 14 of its first crypto asset agents who previously sought licenses, according to an official statement published today, April 2.
The agreement came five months after the Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFA), which was adopted by the Malta government last year. According to the local Times of Malta newspaper, more than 250 applications were initially submitted by lawyers, accounts and auditors. However, almost two-thirds of them failed to pass the official assessment process.
Only 28 of them finally succeeded in applying for a license, and 14 of them were approved with "small details" to be corrected, the newspaper said. Watchdog states that its representatives will now help this crypto service provider under the VFA.
According to the MFSA itself, agents are now obliged to evaluate their customers' business plans and ensure they are well prepared before sending applications to MFSA. In addition, agents must conduct due diligence with their clients, check whether they comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and anti-terrorism financing guidelines.
The regulator himself called the decision "an important milestone in the efforts of MFSA to become a regulator of excellence" for the crypto industry. Officials believe that the decision will promote market integrity and public interest in cryptocurrency.
However, as previously reported by Cointelegraph, Maltese banks were still cautious in opening a banking account for a local cryptocurrency company. When the Times of Malta contacted a number of law firms and financial companies in early March, they reportedly confirmed that banks refused their application to open accounts, saying that it was outside their "risk appetite".
Then, the country's Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Silvio Schembri, told the newspaper that the bank finally waited for agents to get MFSA approval before offering them services.
Because Maltese officials have been openly committed to creating "blockchain islands" in the country, a number of well-known blockchain companies and cryptocurrency have moved to Malta to seek jurisdiction that is more friendly to cryptocurrency. Lately, several major digital currency exchanges, including OKEx, Binance and BitBay, also regulate their operations in Malta.
Source: Cointelegraph
