Founders Bank Advertising Skirts Malta Banking Act Regulations

Malta-based decentralized crypto bank project Founders Bank is still awaiting a licence from local authorities, but is calling itself a bank despite a law against it, The Times of Malta reported on Saturday.

“Once licensed, Founders Bank will become the first stable and high tech banking solution not only focused on founders, but also owned by them, bridging the gap between traditional financial world and innovative crypto companies,” the project said in a blog post last month.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) is apparently unaware that the company has already been publicly calling itself a “bank”. A spokesperson for the financial watchdog was quoted by The Times of Malta as saying:

“What we are aware of are media articles mentioning their plans to set up a blockchain-based bank servicing technology and cryptocurrency businesses. Any applications for this type of bank will have to follow all the MFSA’s on-boarding procedure.”

When questioned about Founders Bank already advertising itself as a bank on its website and in the aforementioned blog post, the spokesman said the MFSA had nothing to add.