Prime Minister of Malta: “Many Cryptocurrency Companies Have Either Moved Or Making Plans to Move to Malta”
The Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat has always been a firm supporter of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. While a number of countries in Europe tend not to have a friendly disposition towards the crypto market, Malta is one of the countries with a history of creating an enabling environment for crypto market operations to flourish.
Part of Muscat’s blockchain agenda has been the implementation of blockchain technology in Education and Property Management. Estonia and Sweden are two European countries that have made giant strides in blockchain protocol implementations.
In an address delivered as part of a political rally in Mqabba on Sunday morning, March 25, 2018, Prime Minister Muscat announced that the government is in talks with a number of potential cryptocurrency investors who want to move their businesses to the country. The Prime Minister stated that the government has series of meeting with these investors over the coming weeks and months.
Binance is Just the Beginning
On Friday, March 23, reports emerged that Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in terms of trading volume was looking to open an office in Malta. The Prime Minister even responded to a tweet announcing the move as he welcomed Binance with open arms to the country. The founder of Binance, Zhao Changpeng even referred to Malta as being a progressive country, especially in the area of cryptocurrency and fintech.
Speaking on the Binance move at the rally in Mqabba, Prime Minister Muscat stated that Binance isn’t even the first crypto company to make the move to Malta. According to the Prime Minister, the popularity of the company is the reason why it made all the headlines. He declared many other companies have either already moved or are making plans to move to Malta.
Malta’s Plans to Regulate the Crypto Market
With the influx of crypto business into the country, the Prime Minister reiterated the need for a robust regulatory framework for the country’s cryptocurrency market. He declared that his government was prepared to take the first step in regulating the market. The Prime Minister noted that such a move would be akin to stepping into uncharted territory seeing as there isn’t exactly a tried, tested, and trusted playbook that could be consulted to provide information on how best to go about regulating the market. However, the Prime Minister declared that the government was determined to take the plunge and explore all possible angles to achieve a functioning regulatory environment for the country’s crypto market.
According to Prime Minister Muscat, the crypto businesses flocking into the country aren’t doing so primarily because of the tax benefits. They are doing so because of their confidence in the government to create a proper regulatory framework for the market. Muscat also expressed confidence that the country’s crypto market could become as robust as its financial and gaming sectors though he admitted that such growth wouldn’t be linear.
The Prime Minister also touched on the potential economic benefits tied to the incoming crypto businesses especially in the area of job opportunities.
