On the 22nd May, 2018 the following bills were published:
- The Virtual Financial Assets Bill;
- The Malta Digital Innovation Bill; and
- The Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Bill.
The Technology Arrangements and Services Act (TAS) shall set out the framework for the registration of Technology Service Providers and the certification of Technology Arrangements. The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act (MDIA Act) shall establish the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA). Holders of innovative technology may apply to obtain an innovative technology authorisation from the MDIA. For the purposes of the MDIA Act, innovative technology shall mean the intrinsic elements including software, codes, computer protocols and other architectures which are used in the context of DLT, smart contracts and related applications.
On the other hand, the Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFA) shall create the basis for the regulation of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrency related activities. This Act needs to be considered in conjunction with the Financial Instrument Test (draft of which was published earlier this year) in order to establish under which regulations a particular activity would fall. Should the activity fall under the VFA, it would need to be licensed and regulated by the VFA and would be included in a register that shall also indicate the
services in relation to which the licence was issued.