Crypto.com has been approved to offer bank transfers in Malta as the platform has received a Crypto Institutions license from the Maltese regulators. So read more in our latest crypto news.

Malta has issued its first EMI license for a crypto-related business and now Crypto.com has been approved to offer payment cards and wire transfer services to islanders. The payment platform crypto.com is now the first crypto company to receive a license from the Cryptocurrency Foundation of Malta that allows it to issue payment cards and offer direct bank transfers to customers. This license complements the Malta Financial Services Authority’s Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) license in May. Kris Marszalek, CEO and Co-Founder, said:

“Becoming the first global crypto platform to receive an EMI license from the MFSA is an important milestone for the entire industry.”

The payment platform and exchange are based in Hong Kong, and Marszalek added that the company is still in the process of applying for a license in each of the countries it operates in. Getting the right license is key to the secure operation of crypto companies as regulators have been scrutinizing exchanges that are operated without the right licenses in recent months. Binance as a cryptocurrency exchange by volume has received blows from regulators around the world. The exchange had hoped to get a Maltese EMI license, but in February 2020 the MFSA was heartbroken when it was revealed that, despite the public nature of the move to the island, the exchange is not allowed to operate outside of Malta.

Malta’s crypto regulations were considered the most innovative in the world when they were announced in 2018, but despite the friendly image and the “Blockchain Island hype”, the registration process is quite expensive and the rules too strict. About 70% of startups that completed the first phase of the MFSA application process were not rated after regulators tightened their guidelines on handling EU money laundering concerns. Despite the additional measures, FATF evaluators in June put Malta on a gray list of countries that have done little to prevent financial crime.

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