Malta is the first country in the world to establish a clear regulatory framework for DLTs, ICOs and virtual currencies. Having had decades of success in regulating i-gaming and now home to a vibrant e-sports community, the island has a well-established infrastructure of tech specialists, and cutting-edge legislation. Evolution of uses and regulations is increasingly impacting macro and micro day-to-day business, as the EU seeks a more direct and level playing field; a symbiosis of new opportunities and technologies, be it the metaverse, blockchain analytics or next level AI.
At DAL, we believe that both Clients and Advisors alike must remain abreast of the latest market and regulatory developments and continually enhance the adequacy of their systems via a multi-level strategy of technical competence, corporate and AML governance; future-proofing by implementing beyond legal minimum standards and avoiding underinvestment in appropriate cyber security, and independent technology and systems audits. Our team is actively involved in planning and assisting clients to safeguard their virtual property, and ensuring that all parties in the value chain meet appropriate standards, that enable one to achieve a tailored solution, within a strong compliance and framework, integrating the individual mix of international elements required for smart safe business development in the global digital economy.
As unprecedented expansion and diversity of cryptocurrencies have attracted a range of new market participants, including retail investors and institutional investors, this has led to increased complexity and money-laundering risks, as is the case with industry variants such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The lack of standardization and regulation in the cryptocurrency industry, makes it particularly challenging to identify accurately, and to continuously mitigate money-laundering risks; tasks made even harder in terms of tracing transactions due to anonymity and decentralization of cryptocurrencies.
As a compliance-driven multidisciplinary team, our culture is that of preventative Anti-Money-Laundering; always advocating extreme caution in dealing with any crypto-related activity as the oxygen of any crypto-related activity. To manage these current and emerging challenges, high levels of risk-management and due diligence must be clear, implementation procedures must be appropriately tailored, and kept up to date via regular testing and proper record keeping of ongoing deployment in such a rapidly-evolving dimension.
