Moving To Malta
The most popular cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, is making their move to Malta. The exchange with $1.6 billion of daily volume made over $200 million profit during quarter 1 of 2018.
https://files.coinmarketcap.com/static/widget/currency.js
Binance currently has no official headquarters and tries to keep locations secret for security reasons. However, we do know they maintain offices and servers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. With legal uncertainty in the Asia Pacific, Binance will move from Hong Kong island to the island of Malta.
The progressive Maltese government launched the Malta Digital Innovation Authority and created “legislation to provide legal certainty in the sphere of Blockchain technology and by extension cryptocurrencies.” The Parliamentary Secretary for the Digital Economy, Silvio Schembri, outlined three steps for Malta and cryptocurrency. “Step one deals with setting up the authority, step two deals with launching a Bill that will set out the regime for the registration of Technology Service Providers and the certification of Technology Arrangements. Lastly, step three will launch a Bill that will set out the framework for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and the regulatory regime on to the provision of certain services in relation to virtual currencies.”
https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/977120106646929408
Friendly Countries for Crypto
The Maltese government strongly believes in the value of distributed ledger technology. But in addition, there are myriad financial benefits in attracting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs. As seen in Puerto Rico, cryptocurrency entrepreneurs are happy to spend their money where they feel welcomed.
Puerto Rico offers no federal income tax and no capital gains tax leading to dozens of newly wealthy cryptocurrency investors moving to the island. The several dozen tax expatriates are buying up land and buildings and even playing around with the idea of starting a new city based around cryptocurrency. Malta, with their friendly cryptocurrency positions, could potentially be the next country attracting significant investment.
Regulations
Binance was looking to receive regulatory licenses in Japan and Hong Kong. Instead, the Japanese government warned Binance about their lack of proper registration with regulators. Zhao Changpeng, CEO of Binance, also tried working with Hong Kong authorities. While these discussions are ongoing, Zhao said the outcome is quite uncertain. Unfortunately, Binance also received a warning letter from the Securities and Futures Commission “telling firms not to trade digital assets defined as securities under Hong Kong law.”
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Fiat Pairs
Perhaps the most exciting news of Binance moving to Malta is the addition of fiat pairs. Binance feels they are “close to securing a deal with local banks that can provide access to deposits and withdrawals.” Zhao said, “We are very confident we can announce a banking partnership there soon.” Currently, Binance only allows the trading of cryptocurrency assets. With the ability to deposit fiat currency, Binance could emerge as a serious competitor for Coinbase.
Conclusion
With the positive news for Binance, it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on their Binance Coin, a coin that saves you money when using the exchange. Binance consistently receives praise from the community for their approach to technological stability. But now it seems Malta can finally provide the legal stability. With over $1.6 billion in volume without fiat deposits, the sky’s the limit for Binance once they land in Malta.
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