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DLT legislation one step closer.

An amendment to financial services legislation approved unanimously by the Gibraltar Parliament on Wednesday represents a key step in Gibraltar’s “trailblazing” work in order to be among the first jurisdictions globally to regulate for distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The amendment to the Financial Services (Investment and Fiduciary Services) Act extends measures for the protection of investors to the customers of licencees carrying on controlled activities which are not investment services. In presenting the amendment, Albert Isola, the Minister for Financial Services and Gaming, said there was already “a list of businesses” waiting to file applications once the DLT regulatory framework was fully implemented on January 1.
The Government has already published regulations for the DLT framework and will next week issue guidance notes on the core principles underpinning the regulatory framework. Mr Isola said Gibraltar would follow the same strategy used in the gaming sector, setting a high benchmark for issuing DLT licenses and focussing solely on quality operators.
He also said, the aim was to attract “long-term, sustainable business” in line with Gibraltar’s reputation as a well-regulated jurisdiction, adding that the government was proceeding “with enormous caution and with great care” as it moved into the sector. “If you attract quality operators, they themselves attract new business”, he said, adding that Gibraltar would also expect operators to have their “minds and management” based on the Rock. Mr Isola also highlighted that the Gibraltar Government was separately planning to regulate cryptocurrencies early in 2018, particularly given wide spread concert about the risks they could potentially present to inexperienced investors.

If you need more on DLT or cryptocurrencies our blogs and news are available as a source of information then look no further than partners, Nick Cruz and Christina Wright who have been advising FinTech clients since 2014  or our professional associates the Acquarius Trust Group both are a market leaders in the Gibraltar FinTech Sector.