The Malta Chamber’s Virtual Assets Business Section recently held its quarterly meeting with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), continuing the standing dialogue between the sector and the regulator on key matters affecting the regulator, operators, applicants and consultants.
The Malta Chamber welcomed the MFSA’s newly appointed FinTech Supervision team and stressed the importance of responsiveness and clear communication throughout the authorisation process, as well as continued progress on the existing pipeline of applications.
The MFSA highlighted its ongoing efforts to streamline the authorisation process while maintaining robust regulatory oversight. The Malta Chamber welcomed this approach and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the industry through practical initiatives, including workshops.
The MFSA also provided an overview of its supervisory priorities for Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs), covering themes including reporting obligations, the effectiveness of systems and controls, market integrity, and operational and ICT resilience. The Malta Chamber welcomed the Authority’s risk-based, outcomes-oriented approach and its commitment to effective, proportionate engagement with licence holders.
The discussion also covered the ongoing MiCA review, with a shared focus on the principles of proportionality and harmonisation, on ensuring the framework remains workable for smaller operators and technology-led use cases, and on strengthening Malta’s and Europe’s competitiveness within the single market. On consumer protection, both sides discussed the scope for closer cooperation to raise public awareness of scams and clone firms.
The meeting also addressed the topic of prediction markets involving crypto assets. In light of the recent notice issued by ESMA on this subject, the Virtual Assets Business Section expressed its view that such instruments do not fall within the scope of MiFID, and that regulatory clarity on this point will be important for operators active in this space.
Looking ahead, The Malta Chamber is committed to maintaining these quarterly meetings as a standing channel for constructive dialogue between the industry and the regulator, and to advancing shared priorities that support a well-regulated, competitive virtual assets sector in Malta.
