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Mario Mizzi

High rise in Malta
Fintech Insights #10 –
Raising Funds Through Tokenisation FinTech

Fintech Insights #10 –
Raising Funds Through Tokenisation

The EU’s process towards further harmonisation of its Capital Markets Union (“CMU”) provides a timely context for the implementation of tokenisation. The CMU aims to create a single, integrated financial market across the EU, fostering cross-border investments, mobilising citizens’ personal savings and reducing the reliance on bank-driven financing. The implementation of tokenisation within capital markets can help achieve these objectives by enabling frictionless trading and unlocking access to new pools of capital whilst increasing liquidity. As discussed in the previous insight on tokenisation in Malta, tokenisation reimagines asset representation by embedding ownership and legal rights into programmable tokens recorded on…
Mario Mizzi
17th April 2025
Manoel Island
SLPFs: Partnership Funds Without Legal Personality Investment Services & Funds

SLPFs: Partnership Funds Without Legal Personality

The Investment Services Act (Special Limited Partnership Funds) Regulations (“LN 30 (2025)” or “the Regulations”) introduced a new type of structure for investment funds in Malta which will be useful for those who are interested in setting up a vehicle without a separate legal personality. The Regulations provide the framework for the Special Limited Partnership Fund (“SLPF”), a limited partnership without juridical personality, a structure that aligns Malta with several other leading asset-management jurisdictions. The SLPF can only be set-up as an investment vehicle which is notified or licensed by the Malta Financial Service Authority (“MFSA”) as a collective investment…
Mario Mizzi
13th February 2025
St James Cavalier Web Dome
DORA is Now in Force: What’s Next? DORAFinTechTelecoms, Media & Technology

DORA is Now in Force: What’s Next?

Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector (“DORA” or the “Act”) became enforceable as of 17th January 2025. DORA Resources As highlighted in various DORA insights by our Firm over the last few months (including a very useful overview of DORA itself), DORA represents a significant milestone in aligning the financial services sector with the EU’s digital finance strategy, offering a regulatory framework for operational resilience and ICT risk management. Designed to bolster operational resilience against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, DORA ushers in a new era…
Mario Mizzi and Warren Ciantar
17th January 2025
Fintech Insights 9
Fintech Insights #9 –
Tokenisation in Malta FinTech

Fintech Insights #9 –
Tokenisation in Malta

Tokenisation is the process of converting legal rights of a real-world-asset (“RWA”) into a digital token that is recorded on a decentralised ledger. Asset-referenced tokens (“ARTs”) can tokenise physical assets such as buildings and commodities; or intangible assets including bonds, equities, intellectual property, quarrying/mining rights or renewable energy credits. ARTs provide a decentralised and transparent way to manage and transfer ownership. The process often involves the use of smart contracts, which automate and enforce the terms of agreements, enhancing efficiency and reducing counterparty risks.  Unlike derivative products, RWA-backed tokens which are licensed as ARTs confer an immutable legal title of…
Mario Mizzi
9th January 2025
POS Payment
Payments Insights #4 –
Compliance with the Instant Payments Regulation Banking & FinanceFinTech

Payments Insights #4 –
Compliance with the Instant Payments Regulation

Compliance with a key component of the EU's Instant Payments Regulation (“IPR”) is mandatory as of the 9th of January 2025. The IPR, whose full name is Regulation (EU) 2024/886 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 amending Regulations (EU) No 260/2012 and (EU) 2021/1230 and Directives 98/26/EC and (EU) 2015/2366 as regards instant credit transfers in Euro, was promulgated in April 2024, and mandates instant euro credit transfers across EU member states. As of the 9th of January 2025, all payment service providers (“PSPs”) operating within the euro area must have systems in place to receive instant credit transfers.…
Katya Tua and Mario Mizzi
8th January 2025
Scene in Valletta
Family Offices Get Maltese Investment Law Exemption Investment Services & Funds

Family Offices Get Maltese Investment Law Exemption

Family offices which choose to manage their global investments from Malta have been given a new legal exemption through a recent amendment in the applicable investment services rulebook of the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”). On the  27th of November 2024, the MFSA issued a circular titled “Establishment of Single Family Offices in Malta”. The circular provides that a Notified Professional Investor Fund (“NPIF”) which is set up to solely manage the investment of a single family office (without raising external capital) does not require a licensed fund manager anymore. This is a beneficial exemption which reduces cost and bureaucracy…
Katya Tua and Mario Mizzi
28th November 2024