Malta pushes back against EU plan for centralized crypto oversight

Malta has publicly opposed the European Union's move to consolidate cryptocurrency market supervision under a central authority, Bloomberg reported. For several months, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has been promoting a plan to centralize crypto oversight to enhance investor safety. If the European Council and Parliament approve the proposal, Malta would have to transfer its supervisory authority over major crypto exchanges like Crypto.com, Gemini, and Bitpanda. Malta views the measure as a political attempt to curb its strategy of attracting the crypto industry.