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FINTECH

MFSA marks three years since the launch of its Virtual Financial Assets Framework

The Virtual Financial Assets Framework was launched three years ago by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), quickly becoming the golden standard adopted by numerous regulators as a way to prevent money-laundering and terrorism financing, said the Authority’s CEO Joseph Gavin during a panel interview.

The framework, which aims at licencing crypto operators, was introduced to protect investors, ensure market integrity and financial soundness. Malta was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce such a framework, and the Authority has since then registered 23 VFA agents, two Whitepapers and authorised 15 VFA service providers. These achievements were reached by following the highest standards in the industry and focusing on quality instead of quantity which were crucial elements to guarantee sustainable growth of the sector.

The Authority is currently at work to implement the Digital Finance Package launched in 2020 by the European Commission, aimed at creating a regulatory landscape that is conducive to sustainable, technology-enabled financial services. This is already closely aligned with the MFSA’s vision as stated in its FinTech Strategy and with the MFSA’s approach towards Virtual Financial Assets.

It is within this context that the MFSA will be focusing on three foundational elements going forward, namely (i) regulation, (ii) monitoring and (iii) capacity to follow global practices and to establish Malta as an international FinTech hub which supports technology-enabled financial innovation built on international standards.

This will contribute to sustainable growth within the financial services market and promotes investor protection, market integrity and financial soundness.

Mr Gavin’s panel interview can be watched here >