TechFlow News, April 1: According to Bloomberg, Malta—the European Union’s smallest member state—is publicly opposing a proposal to centralize cryptocurrency regulatory authority under the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
If the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament advance this proposal—which supporters expect could move forward as early as this summer—Malta would be forced to relinquish its direct regulatory oversight over crypto firms such as Crypto.com and Gemini.
Malta has long attracted numerous crypto enterprises with its permissive regulatory environment and is widely known as the “Blockchain Island.” The country has now entered into an open confrontation with the EU over regulatory centralization—a stance markedly different from the diplomatic negotiations typically employed by EU member states to resolve financial regulatory disagreements.
