If there is any country that has benefited from the blockchain industry, it’s Malta, popularly called the Blockchain island. Due to its favorable regulations and welcoming attitude, dozens of blockchain-related firms have moved their base to Malta over the years and its economy has benefited as a result.

Now, it seems another Island nation wants to get in on the action as Mauritius has announced via its Financial Services Commission (FSC) that from March 1, 2019, It will begin issuing out licenses for cryptocurrency custodians. Some of the laws regarding custodianship had initially been published as a draft in November 2018 but will now become law.

The idea behind this initiative is to encourage a thriving fintech industry that will benefit not just Mauritius but Africa as a whole.

“In revolutionizing the global FinTech ecosystem through this regulatory framework for the custody of Digital Assets, my Government reiterates its commitment to accelerating the country’s move to an age of digitally-enabled economic growth,”

Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, prime minister of the Republic of Mauritius said.

Ahead of the publishing of the laws on March 1, It has been revealed that those who will operate with the custodian licenses are required to conform with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism funding rules

“in line with international best practices.”

Other rules that will likely be put in place include putting risk management programs in place, discourse to clients and keeping of a minimum number of assets on hand. There are also laws that will relate to the storing of assets in cold wallets, particularly those that pertain to the security of the assets and reporting of suspicious activity.

The laws being put forward by the FSC will be done in conjunction with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. This will help create a framework that is both effective at monitoring the industry but also flexible enough that it doesn’t scare away business, which can be a tough balance to achieve.

“This regulatory framework reiterates the stance taken over the last year to be a forward thinking and innovative nation that can lead appropriate and sensible regulation for the region,”

said Loretta Joseph, regulatory consultant to the FS, adding that the process of law creation has been,

”collaborative across industry stakeholders, policymakers and the regulator.”

This simply goes to show that when one country welcomes the blockchain industry to favorable results, others are bound to follow their example.

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) Price Analysis Watch (Feb 8th)

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