As Malta aspires to become the center of blockchain, crypto, and ICOs, the ‘Blockchain Island’ was the first territory to commence regulation of the blockchain and crypto areas by adopting two bills, namely: 'The Innovative Technology Arrangements' and 'The Services and the Virtual Financial Assets Act'. As it was expected, both of the above-mentioned acts (the Acts) came into force on the 1st November 2018.

• The Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Act establishes the framework for registration of auditors and administrators of DLT Platforms and the requirements for certification of the technological agreements.

• The Virtual Financial Assets Act provides the framework for regulations in the sphere of initial virtual financial asset offerings and virtual financial assets, as well as establishes provisions for the obligatory matters related to the licensing application and white paper conditions.

Since the Acts are already in force you might see a lot of public statements regarding the successfully obtained licenses. Dear readers, we hasten to inform you that they might be misleading. Offshorelicense as a reliable corporate service provider has obtained official clarification from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). In accordance with this clarification, the MFSA has yet to issue any licenses under the laws since the requirements for the applicants currently being developed.

As you may already understand in order to apply for the respective licenses or services under Virtual Financial Assets Act, it is required to appoint a VFA Agent. For this purpose, VFA Agent means a person registered with the competent authority and authorized to carry on the profession of (I) attorney at law, accountant or auditor; or (II) a law, accountant or an audit company, or corporate services providers firm; or (III) a corporate body wholly owned and controlled by persons set out in paragraphs (I) or (II). According to the information provided to us by the MFSA, at the time of writing this article, there are no authorized persons to act as a VFA Agent under the Virtual Financial Assets Act.

If you are planning to provide VFA services in accordance with these new regulations you are obligated to obtain one of the offered licenses. There are four different types of licenses under the Acts each of which differs in the amount of rights obtained. With the purpose of obtaining of such licenses, applicants will have to file an application through an authorized VFA Agency. The terms of consideration of such applications vary from 3 to 6 months.

Offshorelicense is establishing itself as a leading consulting company within the fintech and crypto industries. If you are interested in incorporating Maltese company or obtaining one of the newly created licenses, you are welcome to contact Offshorelicense LTD. In case of detection of any suspicious activities or information regarding the VFA Agents and / or VFA Services do not hesitate to contact Offshorelicense so we could offer you our help to determine the reliability of such information.

We will be happy to provide a quote and overview of the process. We leverage on our experience in the crypto industry and corporate services, to deliver a smooth and efficient application process.