Malta's Crypto "Fast Lane": Regulatory Convenience or Risk隐患?
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Malta's Crypto "Fast Lane": Regulatory Convenience or Risk隐患?
This Mediterranean island nation of 500,000 people is becoming the top choice for crypto giants expanding into Europe.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Ian Allison, Camomile Shumba
Translation: LenaXin, ChainCatcher
Key Takeaways
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Malta’s 2018 regulatory framework may ease the transition to MiCA compliance for companies, but questions remain about whether its licensing standards are too lenient.
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The CEO of Poland’s largest crypto exchange said, “Getting a MiCA license shouldn’t be as easy as ordering at McDonald’s.”
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Malta granted OKX pre-authorization under MiCA just one month before the company agreed to pay $500 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice charges over unlicensed operations.
The small southern European island nation of Malta, home to 500,000 people, is emerging as a top destination for major crypto firms seeking entry into Europe. Just weeks after MiCA took effect, the country began issuing licenses to major exchanges like OKX—allowing them to operate across all 30 countries in the European Economic Area.
The latest development shows that Gemmi exchange has joined the list of firms applying for a Maltese license.
However, Malta’s swift implementation of MiCA has sparked controversy. While CASP rules aim for harmonized European standards, national regulators retain some autonomy in approval processes. Industry players are questioning whether Malta conducted sufficient due diligence and if its approvals were too rapid.
Malta’s MiCA “Fast Lane”
Malta’s 2018 Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFA) laid the groundwork for its transition to MiCA and has been officially recognized as “substantially equivalent” to MiCA requirements.
Under this framework, companies holding a VFA license by December 30, 2024, qualify for an accelerated MiCA application process and pre-authorization status.
Regulators say their mature domestic system enables existing firms to benefit from faster approvals.
Regulatory Concerns
While Malta’s ability to quickly adapt to regulatory changes offers convenience for businesses, it raises concerns about the substance of its oversight.
Liat Shetret, vice president at Elliptic, noted, “Smaller jurisdictions can indeed adapt more quickly to regulatory shifts,” but questioned whether such speed comes with adequate enforcement capabilities. She emphasized, “Attracting investment and speeding up licensing is easy, but what matters is having sustainable supervision mechanisms and professional crypto enforcement teams.”
Yet local crypto professionals argue that Malta’s deep experience in digital asset regulation is precisely its competitive advantage.
Ian Guaci, partner at Maltese law firm GTG, said, “Companies need specialized and consistent regulation, which newer MiCA-implementing countries may lack.”
Przemysław Kral, CEO of Zondacrypto—the largest Polish exchange—used the analogy of “fast food versus Michelin-starred restaurants” to explain why he chose stricter Estonia over Malta.
He stated bluntly: “MiCA approvals shouldn’t feel like placing a fast-food order. The fact that OKX got approved in four days illustrates the problem.” (Note: OKX received pre-authorization on January 23, 2025, and full licensing on January 27.)
Crypto Giants Bet on Malta
Major exchanges like OKX have obtained MiCA pre-authorization through Malta’s fast-track process. However, one month later, the company paid $500 million to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations of operating without a license. In April, Malta’s regulator also fined OKX $1.2 million for anti-money laundering violations.
In response, Malta’s financial authority said it applies a risk-based assessment approach, emphasizing “prudent evaluation based on available information, balancing efficiency and risk.” OKX noted it has operated in Malta since 2018 and held a VFA license when applying for MiCA in 2023.
Erald Ghoos, OKX Europe’s CEO, recently explained the choice of Malta on X: “We ultimately selected Malta because its overall licensed product offering was more advanced.” He revealed the company had also considered France and the Netherlands.
Ghoos stressed: “OKX did not receive any special treatment from the Malta Financial Services Authority—in fact, the opposite is true.”
Another crypto giant, Crypto.com, also secured a MiCA license via Malta in January. Although licensed in Dubai and other jurisdictions, the platform was fined €2.85 million in 2023 for operating without authorization in the Netherlands. The company says its Maltese headquarters has been operational for five years.
France Fights Back
French regulators have warned against “fast-food-style” MiCA approvals. AMF chair highlighted that some rapid authorizations might lower regulatory standards and called for stronger coordination by ESMA to prevent firms from shopping around for the most permissive jurisdiction.
MiCA’s authorization process lacks transparency, with significant differences in national implementation standards. While ESMA and EBA have established coordination frameworks, actual execution remains inconsistent.
Arroche, a French blockchain expert, pointed out: “France’s AMF strictly follows ESMA guidelines, while countries like Malta issue licenses even before technical details are finalized—sometimes creating ‘pre-approval’ procedures not authorized under MiCA.”
This regulatory divergence creates clear corporate preferences: France has approved only three CASPs, and its strict standards led OKX to abandon plans in France last July.
EU regulators are now scrutinizing Malta. According to Bloomberg, following Bybit’s hack, multiple regulators urged ESMA to investigate OKX and review Malta’s approval process. AFP reported that ESMA has launched a “peer review” into a member state with lax oversight.
An anonymous European CASP executive confirmed to CoinDesk that ESMA is auditing Malta’s financial regulator. Neither ESMA nor France’s AMF commented.
The Growing Pains of EU Crypto Regulation
Mark Foster, EU policy lead at the Blockchain Innovation Committee, said France’s opposition to fast-track models reflects a fundamental tension in MiCA implementation: the balance between centralized regulation and national sovereignty.
Foster posed a critical question: “Should the EU adopt a federal, centralized decision-making model to compete with China and the U.S., or maintain decentralization and respect national expertise? The latter is vital for member states—excessive centralization would undermine their interests.”
Crypto firms face confusion due to divergent MiCA implementations. Bitpanda’s stance is telling—the exchange emphasized when receiving a German BaFIN license in January 2024: “This is a fully effective, immediate license—not a ‘provisional approval’ issued in certain jurisdictions.”
Though Bitpanda holds CASP licenses in Austria, Malta, and Germany, and declined direct comment, its statement hints at skepticism over license equivalence.
Citizenship-by-Investment Program
Beyond regulatory centralization debates, Malta’s clash with the European Commission over its “citizenship-by-investment” program has intensified. One month ago, the European Court of Justice ruled that the country’s “golden passport” scheme—which sold EU citizenship to individuals investing around $1 million—was illegal. The Commission argued it opened doors to money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption.
A former investigator at Tracfin, France’s anti-money laundering agency, said: “Countries offering golden passports often simultaneously establish lenient offshore corporate regulations.” He added, “It’s no coincidence—these resource-poor economies are typically tax havens relying on such policies for growth.”
Malta has not appealed the ruling but says it is assessing its legal implications. While the “golden visa” program is unrelated to crypto regulation, the country’s strategy of attracting both wealthy individuals and crypto giants shows parallels. Documents obtained by CoinDesk show that Justin Sun, OKX’s Chinese founder, acquired Maltese citizenship in March 2024.
A compliance expert who has advised multiple CASPs anonymously said: “There’s arbitrage in Europe’s regulatory system—companies will always choose the easiest path. If they’re flocking to Malta due to delays elsewhere, it means we’ve failed to build an effective framework for legitimate operators.”
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