Malta’s Registry of Companies to Run on a Blockchain System

The European island of Malta is looking to use blockchain
technology to make its Registry of Companies agency more efficient, Parliamentary
Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, Silvio
Schembri, said
earlier this month.

According to Schembri, the new blockchain-based system will
handle all of the processes performed by the Registry of Companies and “will
make possible the provision of new services which with the present system are
not being provided bringing the agency.” He said the registry will be “the first
in the world to be run on a blockchain-based system.”

“Through an extensive investment in IT, the Registry of Companies will be more efficient and will lessen unnecessary bureaucratic procedures,” Schembri said.

The new blockchain-based system is part of a restructuration
and modernization push for the Registry of Companies, which, at the end of last
year, demerged from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and
established itself as a standalone agency.

The Registry of Companies is a public registry responsible
for the registered information and documentation pertaining to new and existing
companies.

Through the new Legal Act, the agency was given the
responsibility for all assets, liabilities and obligations which were
previously vested or entered by the MFSA and which emanate or arise from the
functions of the agency.

Works are currently being done at the Registry of Companies’
new premises, which will be located in the South Eastern city of Żejtun.

Schembri said the need for the agency to move into new
premises reflects Malta’s rapidly growing economy, and added that the new
premises will form an integral part of Malta’s technological and innovative
activity.

“In 2012, around 58,783 were registered in Malta which
starkly contrasts with the 91,600 companies registered by May 2019, meaning an
increase of 55% in a span of 6 years. In view of these results, it was only
natural for the agency to look for better accommodated premises to work from,” Schembri
said, adding that an autonomous holistic setup dedicated solely to Registry of
Companies functions will be more effective in providing a better service.

Malta is striving to become a leading blockchain hub. Last
year, the Parliament approved
three cryptocurrency and blockchain bills designed to fulfill the country’s
ambition to become the “Blockchain Island” by providing a clear and supportive
regulatory framework. Since then, a horde of startups in the space have
shown interest in settling their businesses on the island.