PRESS RELEASE No. 631/2020 Date: 17th September 2020
Gibraltar Regulator Refreshes Jurisdiction’s Distributed Ledger Technology Regulation Gibraltar – September 17th, 2020 – The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) has today announced a number of important updates to the jurisdiction’s bespoke Distributed Ledger Technology Providers (DLT) regulatory framework Guidance Notes. Changes to the Guidance Notes have been made to capture a natural evolution of the defined regulatory principles. As was always envisioned, in a fast moving industry the idea behind the Guidance notes accompanying the legislation was to be able to facilitate and capture this and maintain a framework that was directly relevant and up to date. As well as offering further clarity on key areas, the amended guidance notes also update the risk framework to distinguish between virtual assets and virtual asset denominated instruments that are arguably higher risk, and require additional factors or on-boarding tests to be considered. Continuation of work on the detailed process of fully adapting the framework to include the latest Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations relating to virtual asset service providers (VASP) activities is also marked by the release of the updated guidance notes. The Government is also continuing with separate work, in engaging an international professional working group on the considerations and factors around the adoption of the Travel Rule requirements introduced for VASPs under the FATF recommendations Gibraltar’s Minister for Digital and Financial Services, the Hon Albert Isola MP, said, “Today marks another milestone moment for Gibraltar’s thriving DLT/VASP ecosystem, as we refine the regulatory framework that guides companies through the licensing process and beyond. Our jurisdiction’s agility has been a hallmark of our success to date, with a progressive open dialogue between regulators and industry figures helping to craft a framework that satisfies natural regulatory prudence while allowing for a sensible amount of regulatory latitude to help projects innovate properly.” The consultation process began last November and included the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC), Gibraltar Association for New Technologies (GANT), and DLT Provider licensees who have been fully consulted on the amendments to the framework. Ministry of Digital and Financial Services HM Government of Gibraltar • Suite 771 Europort • Gibraltar GX11 1AA t +350 20068052 f +350 20047677 e mc@gibraltar.gov.gi w gibraltar.gov.gi