2 ms·

Starting a company on Malta is a pain so unless you live there or work in online gambling (where their regulations actually are decent) the only reason to do so

by jeltz 6y ago

Starting a company on Malta is a pain so unless you live there or work in online gambling (where their regulations actually are decent) the only reason to do so is due to their lax regulations on the finance sector. Outside online gambling Malta is dreadful for startups, so that they are Malta based is indeed a bad sign. My knowledge comes from having worked in the online gambling industry and knowing a lot of people who live in or have lived in Malta.

pjc50 6y ago
Indeed. The real parent company appears to be AitherCO2 SpA, and many of the staff listed are Italian. So there's a reason for not doing this as a SpA. On the other hand there appears to be a somewhat-genuine energy efficiency business under there. This reminds me of "Kodak gets into blockchain" or the Long Island Iced Tea fiasco (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/crypto-craze-sees-long-island-iced-tea-rename-as-long-blockchain https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/crypto-cr... )
microtherion 6y ago
The Bahamas are also not known for their regulatory rigor. Being based both in the Bahamas and in Malta seems even stranger, unless the company intends to engage in a level of shenanigans that would be beyond the tolerance of even a generally tolerant jurisdiction. As a Swiss, I don't know whether I should be offended or relieved that our usual suspect, Zug, does not seem to be involved in this.
- joosters 6y ago
  What's the story with Zug? It seems to be popular for several blockchain hawking companies.
  - dr_hooo 6y ago
    For one thing, it has the lowest tax rate in Switzerland
  - microtherion 6y ago
    Low tax rates, lax regulation, and a relatively efficient and impartial court system (our courts are definitely in the pocket of capitalism, but not so much in the pocket of individual capitalists) have led to a proliferations of companies there, many of whose existence in Zug consists solely of a mailbox. This has also led to a proliferation of local talent which looks passable in a suit, can open mailboxes, is versed in law and/or accounting, and does not steal excessive amounts of money. The business model is basically "stuff that is not provably illegal yet". During the Cold War, Switzerland got away with a lot, but in recent years, many formerly lucrative areas of business started drying up thanks to stricter money laundering laws etc. So for an ecosystem that has evolved to accommodate financial engineering right at the edge of legality, cryptocurrency seemed almost a custom made niche.
baobabKoodaa 6y ago
> work in online gambling (where their regulations actually are decent) This claim is false. The internet is littered with corpses of Malta-based gambling sites that exit scammed their playerbase. This doesn't occur in jurisdictions where the gambling regulations are "decent". Edit: unless you mean "decent" from the perspective of unscrupulous gambling sites who are looking to scam people out of money.

by jeltz 6y ago

pjc50 6y ago

Indeed. The real parent company appears to be AitherCO2 SpA, and many of the staff listed are Italian. So there's a reason for not doing this as a SpA. On the other hand there appears to be a somewhat-genuine energy efficiency business under there. This reminds me of "Kodak gets into blockchain" or the Long Island Iced Tea fiasco (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/crypto-craze-sees-long-island-iced-tea-rename-as-long-blockchain https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/crypto-cr... )

microtherion 6y ago

The Bahamas are also not known for their regulatory rigor. Being based both in the Bahamas and in Malta seems even stranger, unless the company intends to engage in a level of shenanigans that would be beyond the tolerance of even a generally tolerant jurisdiction. As a Swiss, I don't know whether I should be offended or relieved that our usual suspect, Zug, does not seem to be involved in this.

joosters 6y ago
What's the story with Zug? It seems to be popular for several blockchain hawking companies.
- dr_hooo 6y ago
  For one thing, it has the lowest tax rate in Switzerland
- microtherion 6y ago
  Low tax rates, lax regulation, and a relatively efficient and impartial court system (our courts are definitely in the pocket of capitalism, but not so much in the pocket of individual capitalists) have led to a proliferations of companies there, many of whose existence in Zug consists solely of a mailbox. This has also led to a proliferation of local talent which looks passable in a suit, can open mailboxes, is versed in law and/or accounting, and does not steal excessive amounts of money. The business model is basically "stuff that is not provably illegal yet". During the Cold War, Switzerland got away with a lot, but in recent years, many formerly lucrative areas of business started drying up thanks to stricter money laundering laws etc. So for an ecosystem that has evolved to accommodate financial engineering right at the edge of legality, cryptocurrency seemed almost a custom made niche.

baobabKoodaa 6y ago

> work in online gambling (where their regulations actually are decent) This claim is false. The internet is littered with corpses of Malta-based gambling sites that exit scammed their playerbase. This doesn't occur in jurisdictions where the gambling regulations are "decent". Edit: unless you mean "decent" from the perspective of unscrupulous gambling sites who are looking to scam people out of money.