Malta cryptocurrency companies faced problems when opening bank accounts

Despite the fact that the authorities of Malta have recently made great efforts to make this country one of the leaders in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, and opened the doors to several dozen companies, many of them have problems opening bank accounts. This writes the local edition of the Times of Malta .

Thus, a number of service providers, law firms and financial companies contacted by the publication, confirmed that banks “politely” refuse to open accounts, claiming too high risks.

The company’s names do not cite the publication, citing the desire of sources to protect client confidentiality, but notes that often banks do not distinguish between cryptocurrency and blockchain business exclusively, although their activities are not always connected.

Malta's secretary of digital innovation and finance, Silvio Schembri, also confirmed that some banks are less willing to open accounts for cryptocurrency companies, noting, however, that technology firms are still in a more preferred position.

“It’s necessary to make a clear distinction between blockchain and crypto companies ,” he said.

Silvio Schembri also added that he personally leads discussions with banks and other market participants, wanting to help them better understand the industry.

According to him, many banks do not want to work with cryptocurrency companies if they do not have a license from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), and this, he stressed, is “quite understandable.”

According to the publication, MFSA received 28 applications from cryptocurrency companies and intends to complete consideration of the issue of issuing licenses to “agents of virtual financial assets” by the end of March.

Recall that in 2018 in Malta, extremely loyal regulation of the digital assets market was adopted, as a result of which a favorable environment was created for the development of the industry. In particular, on the island were opened divisions of many large cryptocurrency companies, including the Binance exchange.

Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat also previously stated that cryptocurrencies will inevitably receive mass recognition and become the money of the future.

Nevertheless, in January, the specialists of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the development of a cryptocurrency industry could pose a significant threat to the economy of this Mediterranean country.

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