Malta has launched a public consultation on three proposed laws that aim to position the country a world leader in economic innovation, according to Malta Today.

Speaking at the launch of the public consultation, Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri said that the bills will be presented to the parliament following the three-week consultation period.

According to the details, the MDIA bill proposes the setting up of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority, which will act as a central regulator and “will promote government policy that favours the development of Malta as a hub for new and innovative technologies”. The objective is to promote the implementation of cutting edge technologies and incentivising operators to work out of Malta.

The TAS bill seeks to lay out the framework for the registration of Technology service providers and the certification of “technology arrangements”. It will allow for the registration of auditors and administrators of distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms and their certification.

Lastly, the VC bill proposes a regulatory framework for initial coin offerings (ICOs) and services related to virtual currencies. The bill will be subjected to virtual currency intermediaries including brokers, exchanges, wallet providers, asset managers, investment advisors and market makers dealing in VC.

Importantly, three types of DLT platforms will be brought under regulation with the new law – private platforms designed for private consumption, private platforms that will be extended to third parties, and completely public platforms with a “share consensus mechanism”, such Ethereum and Bitcoin.

“The purpose of these laws will be to provide legal certainty to a space that is currently unregulated,” said Schembri. “It will provide an environment condusive to this technology, and it will make Malta the natural destination for businesses working in this field.”