Since 1st January 2018, any firm carrying out by way of business, in or from Gibraltar, the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for storing or transmitting value belonging to others (DLT activities), needs to be authorised by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) as a DLT Provider.
Firms seeking to apply are encouraged to speak to one of the local advisors as soon as possible.
Overview of the DLT Framework
The DLT framework positions Gibraltar as a jurisdiction which facilitates innovation, whilst ensuring it continues to meet its regulatory and strategic objectives, and understands the modern need for robust and speedy interaction with regulators in this fast moving area of business. The DLT framework applies to activities, not subject to regulation under any other regulatory framework, that use DLT for the transmission or storage of value belonging to others. Firms and activities that are subject to another regulatory framework continue to be regulated under that framework.
A flexible, adaptive approach is required in the case of novel business activities, products, and business models. We consider that regulatory outcomes remain central but are better achieved through the application of principles rather than rigid rules. This is because for businesses based on rapidly-evolving technology such hard and fast rules can quickly become outdated and unfit for purpose.
