The Nigerian Senate Committee on Capital Markets has called for the regulation of cryptocurrency and warned that the country’s unclear position could be costing the country. The committee also urged the government of Bola Tinubu to develop the capital and crypto markets to defend the local currency. Nigeria’s Ambiguous Stance on Crypto The Nigerian Senate […]
Bitcoin News
Floki Inu Roadmap Reveals Plans For Regulated Bank Accounts, FLOKI Faces 17% Downtrend
The development team behind the dog-themed meme coin Floki Inu has unveiled its highly anticipated roadmap for 2024, revealing several upcoming features and utility-focused initiatives.
Notable highlights include the launch of regulated digital banking accounts, integration with the Venus decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, the Floki debit card’s introduction, and the Valhalla mainnet’s upcoming release.
Floki Inu Aims To ‘Bank The Unbanked’
Floki Inu plans to introduce regulated digital banking accounts, enabling users to create and fund bank accounts using FLOKI tokens.
In partnership with an unnamed licensed fintech company operating in key jurisdictions such as Canada, Spain, Dominica, Australia, and the UAE, these accounts will support SWIFT payments and SEPA IBANs.
In addition, the upcoming launch of Floki Debit Cards will allow users to link their digital bank accounts to debit cards, providing a convenient and secure way to spend their FLOKI tokens in traditional currencies such as Euro (EUR) and US dollars (USD).
According to the proposal, the initiative aims to “bank the unbanked” by enabling a broader user base to access traditional banking services using their FLOKI tokens while increasing the utility and adoption of cryptocurrency.
Pending governance approval, Floki Inu also seeks to list its native token, FLOKI, on the Venus Core Pool. This integration aims to unlock deeper liquidity, comparable to established blue-chip cryptocurrencies and allow FLOKI holders to use their tokens as collateral to borrow various assets such as Maker (DAI), Circle’s USDC stablecoin, Binance Coin (BNB) and Ethereum (ETH).
By integrating Venus Markets directly into Floki’s user interface (UI), the protocol states that users will have frictionless access to the liquidity provided by the platform, further integrating Floki into the decentralized finance ecosystem.
FLOKI-Powered Trading Bot And Valhalla Mainnet Launch
Floki Inu plans to introduce a cross-chain Telegram and Discord trading bot powered by the FLOKI token. This bot will allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on leading blockchain networks. Specifically, 50% of the fees generated will be used to buy and burn FLOKI tokens, increasing their utility and contributing to a deflationary mechanism.
Finally, the highly anticipated mainnet release of Valhalla, Floki Inu’s flagship utility and metaverse game, will occur. Valhalla on the Mainnet will feature on-chain game mechanics, a PlayToEarn economy, upgradeable NFTs, and an open-world experience.
As of this writing, the FLOKI token has experienced a correction of over 17% in the past seven days, aligning with the overall market trend. This correction has resulted in the current trading price of .0002295 for the FLOKI token.
Despite the recent downtrend, it is worth noting that FLOKI has still achieved a remarkable year-to-date gain of 440%. This substantial increase in value has propelled the token’s market capitalization to billion, solidifying its position at the 59th spot among the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the market.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Binance Latam Regional VP: ‘We Intend to Become Regulated in Argentina’
Min Lin, Latam regional vice president at Binance, referred to the intention of the institution to become regulated in Argentina after a specific law to license crypto brokers is approved. Lin stated the exchange is talking with regulators to introduce innovation in regulatory frameworks and prioritize user protection.
Binance to Seek Regulatory Compliance in Argentina
Min Lin, Latam regional vice president of Binance, recently referred to the upcoming decisions and actions the exchange will take in Argentina and Latam. Lin, who worked as an executive director of Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong for five years, reinforced the intention of complying with Argentine crypto laws when they’re finally enacted, in a recent interview given to Telam, an Argentine state news agency.
When asked about the stance of Binance on crypto regulation in Argentina and globally, Lin detailed:
We believe that for crypto adoption to progress, it is necessary and very important to be regulated and have clear regulations, to give users confidence that it is here to stay. In addition, banks operate with suppliers that are regulated. We intend to become regulated here in Argentina.
Furthermore, Lin stated that Binance regularly talks with regulators to introduce innovation into new frameworks without sacrificing user protection.
Argentina and Stablecoins
Lin also referred to the countries that boast the most cryptocurrency adoption in Latam from his perspective and delved into how most Argentines use crypto.
When asked about the significance that Argentina has for the overall crypto ecosystem in Latam, Lin declared:
For us, Argentina is very important, it is one of the top three countries, with Brazil and Mexico, with which we are working in Latin America.
He also explained that adoption was growing in Argentina and that Argentines used stablecoins — especially USDT — as a tool to protect their purchasing power.
Lin’s statements are consistent with the findings of Chainalysis’ 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report, where the company found that users in Argentina and Venezuela leveraged crypto in “unique” ways to tackle their particular problems.
In Argentina, Chainalysis found that leveraging crypto as protection from inflation and devaluation was a common use case. Alfonso Martel Seward, head of compliance & AML at Lemon Cash, told the company that Argentines exchanged their paychecks for stablecoins such as UDST and USDC.
What do you think about the statements of Binance’s Latam VP Min Lin about Argentina and its stablecoin use? Tell us in the comments section below.
Singapore Announces Stablecoin Rules, MAS to Label Regulated Tokens
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) unveiled regulations aimed at ensuring the value stability of each stablecoin regulated in the city-state. Under the new rules, issuers that want their fiat-pegged tokens to be labeled as “MAS-regulated” will have to meet certain requirements.
Singapore to Require Stablecoin Issuers to Maintain Minimum Base Capital and Liquid Assets
Singapore’s central banking institution has finalized its new regulatory framework for stablecoins issued in the country. On Tuesday, the monetary authority said its features seek to ensure a high degree of value stability for the stablecoins it will regulate.
MAS emphasized that feedback from the public consultation launched in October 2022 has been taken into account. “Stablecoins are digital payment tokens designed to maintain a constant value against one or more specified fiat currencies,” the regulator noted in a press release and elaborated:
When well-regulated to preserve such value stability, stablecoins can serve as a trusted medium of exchange to support innovation, including the ‘on-chain’ purchase and sale of digital assets.
The financial authority also pointed out that the framework will apply to single-currency stablecoins (SCS) pegged to the Singapore dollar or any of the G10 currencies, the world’s most traded fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, and the Swiss franc.
SCS issuers will have to fulfill some key requirements in order to apply for and obtain a “MAS-regulated stablecoins” label for their digital currencies. These cover several important areas such as value stability, capital, and redemption.
Reserve assets for the stablecoins will be subject to requirements relating to their composition, valuation, custody and audit, to ensure value stability, the MAS explained. Issuers will be obliged to maintain minimum base capital and liquid assets to limit insolvency risks.
They must also return the par value of SCS to holders within five business days from a redemption request and appropriately disclose to users information about the implemented value stabilizing mechanism, the rights of stablecoin holders, as well as the results from audits of reserve assets.
This label will allow users to distinguish MAS-regulated stablecoins from other digital payment tokens, the central bank emphasized. Its Deputy Managing Director for Financial Supervision, Ho Hern Shin, urged issuers that want their stablecoins to be recognized as such to prepare early for compliance.
She also highlighted that the regulatory framework aims to facilitate the use of stablecoins as a “credible digital medium of exchange” and a bridge between the fiat and digital asset ecosystems. It’s being introduced over a year after the collapse of stablecoin terrausd and cryptocurrency luna issued by the Singapore-registered company Terraform Labs. The stablecoin rules also follow the implementation of new regulations for crypto service providers in July.
Do you think Singapore will attract stablecoin issuers with its “MAS-regulated” label? Share your expectations in the comments section below.
Binance Launches Regulated Crypto Exchange in Kazakhstan
Licensed since last year, the world’s largest digital asset exchange, Binance, has now launched a trading platform in Kazakhstan. The move comes amid increased pressure from regulators in other jurisdictions, like the U.S., and after Binance’s decision to pull out of several European markets.
Global Leader Binance Sets Up Licensed Exchange in Kazakhstan Amid Euro Exit, U.S. Crackdown
The leading platform for coin trading in the world, Binance, announced the launch of a cryptocurrency exchange in Kazakhstan. The exchange will offer users in the Central Asian nation exchange and conversion services, deposits and withdrawals of fiat money, and custody of crypto assets, a press release detailed on Wednesday.
Binance was licensed to operate in Kazakhstan in October, 2022. The authorization, granted by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), allows it run a digital asset platform and provide custodial services at the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), the country’s financial hub. It plans to expand the suite of services and the list of supported assets to at least 100 this year.
Binance Launches a Regulated Digital Asset Platform in Kazakhstan, with local banking support.https://t.co/FMtG2qz3RW
— CZ
Binance (@cz_binance) June 21, 2023
The move comes as the global exchange finds itself under increased regulatory scrutiny elsewhere. Binance is fighting a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which accuses it of selling assets that the authority deems to be unregistered securities and mishandling customer funds. The crackdown has resulted in a significant drop in the market share of its Binance US platform.
This month, Binance also announced it’s exiting the Dutch market as it was unable to obtain registration as a virtual asset service provider in the Netherlands. Its firm in Cyprus applied to be removed from the country’s register of crypto service providers and Binance’s subsidiary in Britain cancelled its U.K. regulatory authorization. The exchange said it wants to focus on fewer regulated entities in Europe.
The permanent license gave Binance the status of a regulated entity in Kazakhstan. The crypto company has been assisting local authorities in the development of the legal framework for the sector.
Kazakhstan, a mining hotspot since China cracked down on the industry two years ago, enforced a new law this year, designed to regulate its crypto space, including the licensing of AIFC-registered exchanges. Another leading crypto spot exchange, Bybit, was recently licensed, too.
customers in Kazakhstan will be able to use the services of a domestic bank, Freedom Finance Bank, allowing them to transfer fiat funds to their accounts on the new platform through two payment channels — bank cards and regular bank transfers. The global exchange at Binance.com will continue to be available in Kazakhstan as well.
Do you think Binance is shifting focus from developed economies such as the U.S. and the EU to emerging markets in other regions? Tell us in the comments section below.
Crypto Conglomerates Should Be Regulated, MiCA 2 Needed, Bank of France Governor Says
International cooperation is necessary to regulate crypto conglomerates, according to the head of the central bank of France. Speaking at a tech forum in Paris, Governor Villeroy de Galhau also suggested that a new version of the EU’s recently adopted crypto law may be needed to deal with the issue.
Regulation in Single Jurisdiction Insufficient in Case of Crypto Giants, Villeroy Convinced
Cooperation on the international level is needed to regulate crypto conglomerates, the Bank of France Governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, stated at an event during the Vivatech technology conference in the French capital.
Quoted by Bloomberg, Villeroy elaborated that it’s not sufficient to regulate one legal entity in one jurisdiction. He gave an example with U.S. crypto companies that have different legal entities operating in various jurisdictions which, in his view, creates the need for international collaboration.
While emphasizing that the European Union is ahead in terms of crypto regulation, the central bank executive suggested that a new version of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation may be necessary to tackle the regulation of crypto conglomerates, referring to it as “MiCA 2.”
Members of the European Parliament greenlighted MiCA in April of this year and the EU Council approved the bloc’s first crypto rules in May. The package is also considered to be the first world’s comprehensive attempt to regulate and supervise the sector.
MiCA comes in the aftermath of the collapse of major players, such as failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and a regulatory crackdown on other industry leaders, for example, the world’s largest trading platform for digital assets, , in the United States.
However, a number of activities, products and services related to digital assets remain outside MiCA’s scope, including crypto lending, decentralized finance (defi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This has led to officials and policymakers, including President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde, calling for the adoption of a ‘MiCA 2’ set of regulations.
“Decentralized finance is only a new technology. You have actors using this technology for financial services, they need to be regulated. Same action, same risks, same rules,” Banque de France Governor Villeroy insisted during the tech forum which gathers startups, executives, and investors in Paris.
Do you expect global regulations to be adopted for crypto conglomerates? Tell us in the comments section below.
UK Lawmakers Call for Crypto Trading to Be Regulated as Gambling
A committee of British lawmakers has recommended regulating crypto trading as gambling. Viewing retail trading of cryptocurrencies as more akin to gambling rather than a financial service, the U.K. Treasury Committee stated that “Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have no intrinsic value and serve no useful social purpose, while consuming large amounts of energy and being used by criminals in scams, fraud, and money laundering.”
UK Lawmakers Propose Regulating Crypto Like Gambling
The U.K. Parliament announced Wednesday that the Treasury Committee has called for “consumer trading in unbacked crypto to be regulated as gambling.” The Treasury Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs, and associated public bodies. Eleven members of parliament (MPs) currently serve as members of the Committee.
Citing a report titled “Regulating Crypto” which the Treasury Committee published on Wednesday, the Parliament explained: “The cross-party Committee of MPs highlights that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have no intrinsic value and serve no useful social purpose, while consuming large amounts of energy and being used by criminals in scams, fraud and money laundering.” The announcement further details:
The Committee concludes that cryptocurrencies pose significant risks to consumers, given their price volatility and the risk of losses. Given retail trading in unbacked crypto more closely resembles gambling than a financial service, the MPs call on the government to regulate it as such.
The chair of the Treasury Committee, Parliament Member Harriett Baldwin, commented: “The events of 2022 have highlighted the risks posed to consumers by the cryptoasset industry, large parts of which remain a wild west. Effective regulation is clearly needed … By betting on these unbacked ‘tokens’, consumers should be aware that all their money could be lost.”
In addition, the U.K. Parliament noted:
The Committee is also concerned that regulating consumer crypto trading as a financial service – as proposed by the government – will create a ‘halo’ effect, leading consumers to believe this activity is safe and protected, when it is not.
The U.K. is currently working on legislation to regulate the crypto sector as it strives to become a “global hub” for crypto assets. In February, the British government published a proposed regulatory framework for crypto. Andrew Griffith, Economic Secretary to the U.K. Treasury, told CNBC in April that specific crypto regulation could come into force within a year or so.
What do you think about the Treasury Committee’s proposal to regulate crypto trading as gambling? Let us know in the comments section below.
Blockchain Entrepreneur Mykola Udianskyi Sold the LocalTrade Exchange and Focused on Developing Two Regulated Exchanges in England and Austria
In 2021, Forbes magazine published a ranking of the 100 richest people in Ukraine and the 59th place was taken by the crypto entrepreneur from Kharkov, Mykola Udianskyi. His fortune according to the magazine is estimated at $ 180 million. He was one of the first crypto investors in the CIS and today he is the founder of the digital holding Ehold, Bitcoin Ultimatum fork and many other projects.
As a reminder, Mykola acquired LocalTrade in September 2020 after the sale of the Coinsbit exchange in November 2019. Initially, it was planned to transfer LocalTrade under the jurisdiction of Montenegro and repurpose it for futures and OTC transactions, but later the entrepreneur announced the sale of the trading platform. Mykola Udianskyi decided to devote his time to other projects: he focused on the creation of regulated exchanges in the UK and Austria. The entrepreneur’s team is working on the launch of four new exchanges in England and the UAE, Ukraine and Montenegro are next in line this year. In addition, he recently launched the only available regulated exchange in India.
Currently, Mykola’s company is also working on the creation of a Digital Bank, the main feature of which is the simultaneous support of cryptocurrencies and their integration with the traditional banking system. The project is aiming for the implementation of innovative functionality that will make everyday calculations in cryptocurrency as simple as it is now through fiat.
Digital banking is one of the most important development areas in the cryptocurrency industry. Succeeding in this area will combine digital coins with conventional banking, which in turn will erase the line between fiat and cryptocurrencies.
New LocalTrade team and contractors
The new leadership of Local Trade has pledged to turn blockchain and digital finance into understandable notions and revolutionize this field. The head of the company is CEO Aaron Levi Yahal. The new top manager has vast experience in marketing and has supported many financial and cryptocurrency projects. His many years of practice have proven to us that the projects Aaron had a hand on all ended up achieving excellent results. Perhaps the most famous one is PureFi, where he holds the position of RegTech Strategist. This is a unique protocol (unparallelled in the market) that allows AML technologies to be implemented in DeFi.
Alexandra Buimister is the chief operating officer of the exchange. Alexandra has a very rich portfolio: she has international experience in the fintech and financial sectors, in addition, she is the founder of alternative banking services. Alexandra has experience in leadership positions in many global brands: BCA Research (Euromoney PLC), Forbes Latvia & Finland, Supreme Group, etc.
Aaron’s team has ambitious plans for the future of the LocalTrade exchange. In order to implement them, he turned to the time-tested SPACE IT Blockchain contractors. The latter is a leading IT company from the UAE.
The CEO of LocalTrade is confident in the high-quality execution of the technical component of his own ideas since he has already used the services of SPACE IT Blockchain several times and knows from his own experience what high standards are set within the company.
How to get the most out of DeFi?
According to the company’s management, they are planning on not only upgrading the platform, but they also want to create a fundamentally new product, which has no equal in the world. The community’s reaction to this news is overwhelmingly positive, traders can’t wait to test the updated product.
First and foremost, the team will focus on the security and usability of the updated platform. They intend on developing the FinTech industry, as well as integrate DeFi capabilities that will solve the existing problems through blockchain technology.
The implementation of DeFi completely removes intermediaries from the equation and puts smart contracts in their stead, which, in turn, create trusted protocols. In fact, decentralized finance almost completely eliminates the risk of losing funds due to fraudulent activities, since the user conducts all financial transactions through his personal wallet, the private keys of which are only with him.
The boom in decentralized finance came in the summer of 2020. The excitement in this area caused a huge increase in the prices of certain assets: the DeFi token YFI became an absolute record holder, which increased by 1280 times. Therefore, this branch of the digital economy is one of the most promising and important at the moment.
Although the DeFi topic is over a year old, it is still quite difficult to understand, especially for new crypto investors. On the Internet, there are a huge number of investment proposals in plenty of DeFi projects. However, the problem is that the overwhelming majority of market participants cannot conduct an objective analysis of each of them.
In order for non-professional investors to safely invest in this sector, LocalTrade is creating another product – Marketplace. Only verified DeFi projects will be included here, and users will be able to invest in them without restrictions.
DEX’s Launch
Towards the end of summer – early fall 2021, the LocalTrade management plans to launch a decentralized exchange (DEX). The fundamental difference between this service and its centralized counterparts is security and a guarantee of complete anonymity.
The fact is that DEX does not collect nor store any user data on its servers (IP addresses, time zone, screen resolution data, and other digital prints). On decentralized exchanges, there is no need to go through the registration process, let alone verification (KYC / AML). And, most importantly, DEX does not store user funds in their wallets, so clients are the rightful owners of their assets.
Disadvantages of DEX
Despite the many positive aspects, decentralized exchanges also have a number of disadvantages. Perhaps the primary weakness of DEX is the small selection of trading pairs and the lack of necessary liquidity in the least popular tokens.
Market makers and liquidity pools are responsible for trading cryptocurrencies on decentralized exchanges. In order to add a new trading pair to the exchange, you need to create a smart pool contract and lock in it a certain amount of an asset that provides liquidity.
Unoptimized smart contracts lead to various inconveniences:
- long transaction processing time,
- high commissions,
- increased likelihood of canceling the transaction without a refund by gwey (applies to DEX on Ethereum).
Solving the problem of sub-optimal smart contracts from LocalTrade
The LocalTrade team intends to eliminate this deficiency, for this they decided to use the orderbook model. With its help, it will be possible to add new trading pairs without the need to register a separate smart contract for it each time.
For the creation of the DEX protocol, the LocalTrade team focused on optimizing smart contracts, namely, increasing the speed of work and at the same time reducing commission fees. In the near future, performance will be significantly improved by reformatting the system architecture based on Layer-2.
Loss on the course at high volumes
Another problem that worries traders is the significant change in the rate during the processing of large volumes. LocalTrade has a solution to this problem as well: Traders will now set the maximum allowable price range themselves.
All of the above sounded like a fairy tale just a year ago, but now it is already a prospect for the near future. If you look at Aaron’s past and follow the further development of his projects, then we can safely say that the grandiose changes to LocalTrade that he talks about are only a matter of time. We just need to be patient and wait for the best blockchain developers to embody the ideas of Aaron Levi Yahal.
Image: Mykola Udianskyi and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao
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Stratis Protocol Receives Investment from Alphabit, World’s First Regulated Digital Asset Investment Fund
Stratis, the leading Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) platform that makes it easier for businesses of all sizes to adopt DLT has announced a significant development that could potentially make it a formidable force in the enterprise blockchain solutions sector. The platform has received an initial investment along with a commitment for further investments of at least a few million over the next two years from Alphabit –a digital asset investment fund.
The Stratis Platform is known for its ability to provide blockchain solutions that can work seamlessly with the existing IT infrastructure. It achieves this unique feat by making use of the widely used C# programming language to develop blockchain features including smart contracts, multiple sidechains, and even a full-scale ICO platform.
Announcing the news, Stratis CEO Chris Trew said, “We are thrilled to partner with Alphabit, one of the world’s first regulated digital asset investment funds. Alphabit’s initial injection, in conjunction with their further investment commitment, will unquestionably assist in accelerating the adoption of Stratis Technologies, while cementing Stratis as the go-to platform for Microsoft.NET Blockchain development. “
With over a billion dollars’ worth of assets under management, Alphabit has a keen interest in blockchain projects that deliver turn-key solutions. Identifying such projects, the fund not only invests in them but also assists them with end-to-end partnerships and more for sustained growth and expansion. The entry of Alphabit and its digital asset investment fund will enable Stratis to rapidly scale its offerings, allowing mainstream organizations to use blockchain in their day-to-day operations.
In a statement, the CEO of Alphabit Liam Robertson said, “Stratis Protocol, after analysis, fits neatly into our investment thesis and we believe the potential for growth for Stratis to be exponential. We are delighted to welcome Stratis into our portfolio and look forward to supporting them over the coming months and years.”
Some of the products offered by Stratis Protocol include Stratis Identity — A decentralized KYC and AML check solution, Supply Trust – a turnkey solution for transparent and trustless supply chain management, a fully compliant STO Platform for issuing digital securities through token offering, and Stratis Smart Contracts developed in the industry-standard Microsoft C# language.
Alphabit’s initial investment as well as the prolonged commitment to provide additional funds over a period of two years indicates the potential of Stratis to add infinite value to its B2B blockchain solutions. As more companies explore the possibility of implementing decentralized technologies into their operations, Microsoft.NET and C# based blockchain solutions will fit right into their already existing infrastructure and Stratis will make the whole process a lot easier.
Image by Lee Ashby from Pixabay
VAIOT Becomes the First Regulated Blockchain Project under Malta’s VFA Act
VAIOT, a novel blockchain and AI-based intelligent contracts platform, has created a milestone by becoming the first digital services business to register its whitepaper with the Maltese authorities under its new regulatory framework for regulating digital assets. The successful registration of the project’s documents with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) ensures the upcoming VAI token offering is regulated under the Maltese Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFAA), offering much-needed security and peace of mind to potential investors.
Built on a proprietary blockchain that’s based on the open-source Cosmos SDK framework, VAIOT combines the functionalities of a blockchain programmer and personal assistant through intertwined blockchain, AI and natural user interface. The platform is designed to serve as a virtual legal assistant and an AI-backed digital service distribution channel catering to the needs of businesses and consumers alike, ensuring 24/7 access to services and distribution channels. To begin with, VAIOT will be focusing on offering its solutions to the insurance industry, helping automate sales and services channels.
The VAIOT platform is fueled by its native VAI token, which serves as a utility as well as payments token within the ecosystem.
The VAI token offering is scheduled to go live later this year, and the registration of VAIOT’s whitepaper with MFSA is in compliance with Malta’s regulatory framework for Virtual Financial Assets and Initial Virtual Financial Assets Offerings (IVFAO). These regulations are in line with recently proposed EU legislation for Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), applicable across all member states. The registration of VAIOT whitepaper was supported by Grant Thornton Malta – a leading independent audit, tax and advisory service in the country, which is also acting as the project’s VFA agent.
Commenting on the milestone achievement, CEO of VAIOT Christoph Surgowt said, “We are thrilled to successfully register our whitepaper with the MFSA. The Maltese government has taken major steps towards introducing a clear regulatory framework surrounding IVFAOs. We will be able to offer our token in an ecosystem that will not only support the development and evolution of virtual financial assets and innovative solutions, such as VAIOT, but protect investors and token traders.”
On the same topic, Dr. Wayne Pisani Partner, Regulatory and Compliance Services at Grant Thornton said, “It’s always exciting to break new ground.” Further adding, “VAIOT is pioneering one of the first IVFAOs, pushing forward a novel asset class in addition to its product. We look forward to engaging with, assisting, and advising the industry, as well as influencing the debate over how these virtual assistants and digital financial assets will evolve going forward.”
As VAIOT’s independent VFA agent, Grant Thornton Malta was responsible for conducting extensive due diligence of the project along with MFSA. As a part of the registration process, VAIOT had to prove it has all proper AML procedures in place and undergo a thorough security and smart contract audit by an authorized Systems Auditor. Meanwhile, last month, VAIOT launched the beta version of its first intelligent virtual assistant for car insurance, which can be accessed by users after signing up for beta-testing access on the website.
Image by Sofia Arkestål from Pixabay