Crypto Malta
Crypto in Malta operates within an EU financial center supervised by the Malta Financial Services Authority. The authority oversees financial activities including banking, insurance, investment funds and covered crypto services. For a crypto business, the regulatory setting determines the permissions and operating responsibilities associated with serving customers from Malta.
Malta introduced the Virtual Financial Assets Act in 2018 and subsequently became part of the European MiCA regime. The MFSA grants authorizations for crypto-asset service providers within that framework. Covered cross-border services depend on the provider's permissions, making the authorized entity and the scope of its services important when choosing an exchange or custodian.
From the VFA Act to the MiCA license
The Virtual Financial Assets Act of 2018 created a license for crypto exchanges, brokers and custodians before most EU countries had rules of their own, and Malta's investment promotion still describes Malta as the first jurisdiction with such a framework. MiCA replaced the VFA license with the EU authorization as CASP. Crypto.com received its MiCA license from the MFSA on 27 January 2025, as Fintech News reported.
OKX set up its EU company in Malta in July 2024. OKX Europe Limited is authorized by the MFSA as a CASP, and the OKX service serves customers in Germany from Malta.
Exchanges with a Maltese MiCA license
Gemini became the fifth CASP authorized by the MFSA, joining Bitpanda, Crypto.com, OKX and ZBX, Cointelegraph reported. Blockchain.com received an MFSA license on 23 October 2025 for custody and wallet services, which it can offer in 30 EEA countries, according to Cointelegraph. Bitpanda also holds MiCA licenses from Germany and Austria.
In April 2026 it had 12 authorized CASPs, against 53 in Germany and 25 in the Netherlands, according to a count by the Polish law firm Skarbiec.
The passport and the ESMA review
A CASP licensed by the MFSA notifies the MFSA of the countries where it wants to serve clients, and the MFSA passes the notice on to their authorities. After that the firm can serve clients there without a second license, which is how Maltese licenses reach customers in Germany. In July 2025 ESMA published a peer review that questioned how the MFSA had authorized one CASP; the MFSA answered that the case posed no risk, as the Cointelegraph report on the Blockchain.com license recounts.
Finance Loop, the meeting place for MiCA compliance
Finance Loop is the meeting place for people at banks, brokers, crypto firms and law firms who apply MiCA. The Bybit EU Crypto Evening at TechQuartier dealt with compliance under MiCAR, and Finance Loop lists the MiCAR certificate program of EBS Executive School and HEUKING. Finance Loop connects the finance, IT and AI communities at events in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.
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Is crypto legal in Malta?
Crypto trading, custody and exchange services are legal and licensed by the MFSA under MiCA. Before MiCA, Malta licensed them under the Virtual Financial Assets Act of 2018.
Crypto in Malta and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers MiCA licenses in its Risk & Compliance track, from the choice of a home regulator to the passport into Germany. Finance Loop brings compliance officers of banks, brokers and crypto firms together with lawyers and supervisors at events in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.
Finance Loop is a professional network supporting the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.