Best Bitcoin Card for Malta

Increasing regulation is a headache for many blockchain companies. Uncertainty on the one hand, too strict regulation on the other hand are often factors that slow down the development of blockchain companies and especially ICOs. Malta is the place to go.

Malta is located in southern Europe and is estimated to accommodate 450,000 people in an area of 316 km². This makes the island – at least on paper – one of the most densely populated spots in Europe. Shortly after Monaco and the Vatican City, the island is in third place. With an average temperature of at least 15.4 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 23 degrees Celsius, the climate is subtropical and pleasant throughout.

The same applies to taxes. Citizens who do not come from Malta are not obliged to pay taxes if they have income generated abroad – at least if it is not transferred to Maltese banks. In this case, when the income is transferred to Malta, it is subject to 15 per cent tax.

The country also has a good place to go when it comes to crypto currencies and block chains. The government established the Malta Digital Innovation Authority in February 2018. This authority is working on an extensive regulatory framework network for crypto currencies and ICOs.

Binance and OKEx have already fled

One of the most important recent events in this regard was probably the decision by Binance to move to Malta. In the context of regulatory difficulties in Japan, the Exchange decided in March to visit the island. There they were welcomed with open arms. In a tweet, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat greeted the Exchange, saying it was planning to become one of the first port of call for blockchain companies.

Without further ado, the OKEx stock exchange also decided to profit from the climate in Malta. In a press release, the exchange announced that it would manage its business from Malta in future:

“We look forward to working with the government in Malta. It thinks ahead and shares many of our values. The most important of these are the protection of traders and the public as well as anti-money laundering and know-your-customer standards. They also recognise the innovation and importance of developing the Blockchain ecosystem”.

In April, the Financial Supervisory Authority then developed the Financial Instrument Test. This test is designed to better classify tokens. Once the test has been carried out, it should be known in future whether an asset based on a distributed ledger technology falls under EU regulations and thus under traditional financial guidelines or the Maltese “Virtual Financial Assets Act”.

Building on this, Malta then issued three new draft laws in May concerning the regulation of crypto currencies. In the end, they tightened the regulatory framework somewhat and made a name for themselves in international competition for the numerous block-chain companies looking for a (tax) oasis.