Regulation

At the beginning of November 2018, a guideline on how to treat stamp duty, income tax and VAT on transactions that involve Digital Ledger Technology assets was issued by the Malta Commissioner for Revenue as part of the VFA tax Act. In the guidelines, the DLT assets were classified into coins and tokens, with the tokens further being classified into financial tokens and utility tokens. The guidelines came in three sets, with each set covering either the income tax, stamp duty or the VAT.

Until relatively recently, the tiny island nation of Malta was perhaps best known as a favourite holiday destination for many a European tourist. In fact, this Mediterranean hotspot is still said to host three times as many tourists as actual Maltese residents at any one time. However, while the hotels and beaches are still bursting at the seams with sun-seekers, Malta’s economy has been steadily diversifying and expanding in interesting new directions. One such direction has been a movement into the digital realm, with Malta becoming a pioneering player in this respect. As attention on cryptocurrencies increases so has the discussion surrounding regulation. As such, cryptocurrency regulations in Malta are a hot topic.

Modern day entrepreneurs have creative ways of raising money like crowdfunding, which is steadily gaining dominance. ICOs operate under similar principles in that investors are offered shares in a currency that is still in development. In exchange, they contribute the more popular digital currency such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. Fiat currency like the Euro and USD can also be used.

Virtual currencies, also known by the name crypto currencies, are an entirely digital form of money. They are unregulated by any financial authority, instead being entirely under the control of their developers. National and international banks do not oversee the use of virtual currencies, as there is no physical aspect to them, and they are therefore, not considered to be legal tender.Transactions in a virtual currency involve them being shown on an online platform, which is called a BLOCK. The person sending the money must first purchase Bitcoins, on a platform known as an Exchange. The new BLOCK is then broadcast to all the other users of the network, and is added to the current blocks, making a blockchain. This completes the transaction, with no intermediate banks or transfer fees involved.The Exchanges on which Bitcoins are purchased will eventually all be approved and awarded the relevant licences in the appropriate financial jurisdictions. At present, the Bitstamp exchange has had full licensing since 2016, which means it can be used within the European Union. Regarding security, the blockchain is held over thousands of different networks, making it more difficult to hack than the one central system which holds all the details of one bank's customers and accounts.

You’ve probably heard of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum whilst you’ve been going about your everyday life but do you really know what they are? These are two of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market, they are basically a digital currency which utilizes encryption techniques in order to enhance security during the trading process. Cryptocurrency in Malta is sometimes referred to as virtual currency, is made up of a number of virtual coins which can be generated using a process called mining, this involves solving a series of complex mathematical algorithms. Coins can be used to pay for goods and services in a similar way to any other form of electrical payment using a blockchain platform, which is a peer-to-peer technology that ensures transparency and accountability during trades.

The last few years will be remembered as those which saw the introduction of Bitcoin to the general public. Although cryptocurrencies have been discussed in the media for a while, it was only recently that the terminology became commonly used and more importantly understood, by the average person on the street. Here, we will look at the way cryptocurrencies taxes are treated in Malta for the purposes of income tax and the reasons a person may invest in cryptocurrency.