Some €60 billion in crypto moved through Malta after it first announced itself as the "blockchain island." One of the crypto ventures that moved to the crypto island was Staern Limited, registered in Malta in May 2020. The company was awarded a Virtual Financial Asset (VFA) license by the MFSA soon after. However, the “blockchain island” became a disaster. Staern has now surrendered its license. The sole shareholder of Staern is the Russian Khetag Albegov.