Saturday 5 October 2013

The regulatory treatment of bitcoin and other virtual currencies in Malta

We're increasingly seeing interest from businesses operating in the bitcoin / virtual currencies space looking to establish operations in Malta. We feel there is a lack of useful Malta-specific information on this topic, and we've therefore put up a detailed article on the topic on our website. You can read more by following the link below:

Bitcoin and Virtual Currencies in Malta

One interesting phenomenon that we have noted is the keenness of many operators to run their businesses in-line with well established regulatory best practice principles, even though bitcoin is strictly speaking neither fiat money nor a financial instrument and therefore not yet regulated under Maltese law. Having said that, in light of all the attention (both positive as well as negative) that virtual currencies have been attracting, it is only a matter of time before regulators issue rules governing the sector, and therefore it makes sense for serious operators to be prepared.

Dr Charles Cassar
Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates, Malta Law Firm