Singapore’s AlphaBit exchange setting up office in Malta

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Blockchain island Malta continues to be the destination of choice for cryptocurrency and blockchain companies with another recent announcement grabbing the media’ attention. AlphaBit CryptoCurrency (ABCC) Exchange, currently based in Singapore, recently announced that it will be setting up an office in Malta, according to information posted on the Malta Chamber of Commerce’s website. According to sources, this move is aimed at strengthening the exchange’s presence in Europe.

This move follows a host of other exchanges who have already set up a base in Malta. These include Binance, OKEx and DQR whose operations expected to start very soon. A few weeks ago, there was also the announcement of a new crypto-based bank—dubbed Founders Bank—that will start operating from Malta in 2019 as well as an announcement of a cryptocurrency to fiat exchange by Bitbay and Neufund, which also have offices in Malta.

ABCC’s Malta office will be the trading platform’s first step into the European crypto scene. ABCC, which has been operational in Singapore since the end of April, currently ranks 11th worldwide in terms of trading volume, according to data from Coinhills.

Furthermore, the exchange has agreed to be an official sponsor of the blockchain-focused Delta Summit that will be held in St. Julian’s on October 3-5. This summit is currently being promoted heavily by the Maltese government with luminaries such as Tim Draper expected to address delegates.

“We are delighted to announce the opening of our first expansion into Europe and our partnership with Delta Summit. Indeed, we look forward to working closely with the Government of Malta and to support its transition into a digital innovation centre of excellence,” ABCC CEO Calvin Cheng commented.

At present, ABCC offers trading with over 50 virtual coins, BTC, ETH and USDT being the base currencies.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce has also been quite active on the blockchain and cryptocurrency front, recently organizing a seminar on the topic which was addressed by Junior Minister for Digital Innovation and Finance, Silvio Schembri.

Addressing the seminar, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Hon. Silvio Schembri said that Malta became the first world jurisdiction to offer a holistic approach to regulate distributed ledger technology.

“The highly anticipated bills are now enacted into law,” Hon. Schembri said. “The establishment of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority will focus on innovative technology arrangements and their use cases. At initial stage, the Authority will only focus on DLT and related Smart Contracts. At the moment, the Authority is working on the rules and procedures to be issued for public consultation and gather the feedback of the industry. This new technology is expected to impact various industries and thus it is important that there is a framework for cooperation between the MDIA and other authorities.”