Malta regulator to test cyber currency impact

The Malta Gaming Authority is collaborating with private and government entities for its upcoming trials to assess the impact of the introduction of cyber currencies on the local economy.

The regulator has partnered with auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, along with the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and the Central Bank of Malta in a closely monitored trial in a closed environment which will involve a fictitious cyber currency.

The trial is the latest development in Malta’s approach to the growing popularity of cyber currencies and follows government statements earlier this year that a national strategy to promote blockchain technology was underway with a view to creating another revenue-generating industry in Malta.

Two months ago MGA chief Joseph Cushieri noted the growing importance of cyber currencies in the online gambling industry and indicated that the MGA was amenable to allowing licensees to deploy such currencies under strictly controlled conditions.

However, he warned that the government would always guard Malta’s reputation as a business centre of integrity, and that cyber currencies have both risk and reward potential that must be considered carefully.

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