By Daniel Ellul

Copyright timesofmalta

Malta’s financial services regulator does not want the supervision of cryptocurrency regulation to be centralised at a European level. In a statement, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) said the supervision of companies that offer services related to cryptocurrencies or other digital assets should remain in national regulators’ hands. “This position is based on the relatively recent implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which has been applicable for only nine months. It is premature to assess its full impact, especially on CASPs (Crypto Asset Service Providers),” an MFSA statement said. MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) are uniform EU market rules for crypto-assets. “The MFSA believes that now is not the appropriate moment to introduce additional layers of supervision that could potentially hinder competitiveness and innovation within the digital assets market.” The Authority said it believes that European-level efforts should be aimed at enhancing competitiveness rather than adding “unnecessary bureaucracy.” The MFSA’s statement comes as the European agency responsible for crypto- the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)- looks to directly police MiCA. However, government sources say that such a move could hurt the industry in Malta. “Malta has robust regulations that have been in place for years. As a result, those who are responsible for overseeing crypto regulation are efficient and experienced in their job. That sort of atmosphere attracts companies,” Times of Malta was told. The MFSA said it was committed to the current “collaborative” system. As things stand, the MFSA equivalents of member states are responsible for supervising each other and should engage in dialogue to safeguard market integrity. ESMA monitors this via the Digital Finance Standing Committee, a body aimed at promoting supervisory convergence and monitoring issues such as regulatory and supervisory arbitrage.