Share this article
Malta Finance Regulator Warns Against Crypto Margin Trading Site
The MFSA issued a warning against Stocksbtc, denying claims that the startup is registered with the regulator and based in Malta.
By Nikhilesh De
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 7:47 a.m. Published Apr 5, 2018, 4:40 p.m.
Malta's government has released a new warning about a cryptocurrency margin trading site.
StocksBTC claims on its website to be registered with the agency and to have a physical location in the country. That's not true, according to the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), prompting it to issue a warning Thursday to investors about the service.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
In addition, the MFSA noted that StocksBTC "appears to be offering investment and/or other financial services to consumers." As part of its warning, the regulator noted that Stocksbtc is not "licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any type of financial services which are required to be licensed or otherwise authorised under Maltese law."
The statement continued:
"The MFSA strongly advises investors and consumers of financial services that prior to making any investment or entering into any financial services transaction they should ascertain that the entity with whom the investment or transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another financial services regulatory authority as applicable."
The MFSA has taken a largely cautious approach to the cryptocurrency space to date, and today's warning is the first related to cryptocurrency since it put out a general advisory on last July.
The warning comes just over two months after the MFSA released feedback for its new cryptocurrency rulebook, which was released at the end of January, as previously reported. Even still, crypto businesses are eyeing the country for relocation – late last month, cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it would open an office in Malta.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the new rulebook has been released.
Malta flag image via Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock
Más para ti
Lo que debes saber:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
Más para ti
Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin Stuck in Post-Fed Range as Altcoins Slump Deepens
Bitcoin remains trapped in a range despite the U.S. rate cut, while altcoins and memecoins struggle to attract risk appetite amid shifting investor behavior.
Lo que debes saber:
- BTC briefly dipped below $90,000 after Wednesday's 25 basis-point U.S. rate cut before rebounding, but price action lacked a clear fundamental catalyst.
- Tokens such as JUP, KAS and QNT posted double-digit weekly losses, while CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index fell to a cycle low of 16/100.
- CoinDesk’s Memecoin Index is down 59% year-to-date versus a 7.3% decline in the CD10, highlighting a shift from retail-driven hype to more institutionally led, slower-moving markets.
Top Stories
