Grant Thornton appointed as VFA agent in Malta

We are proud to announce that we have received ‘in principle’ approval from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to provide the services of a Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) Agent (under both articles 7 and 14 of the VFA Act) enabling Grant Thornton to support both VFA issuers in the registration of ICO whitepapers as well as VFA service providers in their licensing process.

VFA Agents are regulated by the provisions of the Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFAA) and are the sole entities authorized to act as intermediaries between potential issuers and/or licensees and the MFSA.

The role of a VFA Agent is a particularly delicate one. Companies intending to launch a virtual financial asset offering or list their VFA on an exchange must appoint a VFA Agent to guide them through the offering/listing procedure and act as an intermediary with the MFSA.  Such persons must retain the services of a VFA Agent on an ongoing basis for as long as its VFAs remain listed.

VFA service providers seeking to apply for a license under the VFA Act must also appoint a VFA Agent to assist them with their license application. The VFA Agent is central to the relationship between the client and the MFSA, also acting as a gate keeper to safeguard the public interest.

Upon registration, a list of the approved entities will be made available on the MFSA website.

In order to ensure that all our client’s needs are met Grant Thornton operates a multi-disciplinary Fintech and Blockchain Advisory Team composed of specialists in different areas to assist in all other related matters.