The Financial Supervisory Commission is to set up new money laundering regulations for the nation’s cryptocurrency exchanges from July 1, requiring them to report transactions valued at more than NT$500,000 (US$17,770), the commission said yesterday.
The move came after the Executive Yuan earlier this month demanded that the commission establish regulations to prevent money laundering in the cryptocurrency industry.
The cryptocurrency industry includes local trading platforms for cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency wallet providers and firms that conduct security token offerings, the Executive Yuan said.
Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei Times
The commission plans to require cryptocurrency exchanges to report any transaction of more than NT$500,000 conducted in cash, or an equivalent amount denominated in a foreign currency, Banking Bureau Deputy Director-General Lin Chih-chi (林志吉) told a news conference in New Taipei City.
That is in line with the commission’s money laundering requirements for conventional banks, Lin said.
However, investors are unlikely to buy bitcoin with more than NT$500,000 in cash, as most exchanges require clients to link their bank accounts to their trading services, a commission official surnamed Yen (顏) said.
The BitoPro (幣託) exchange does allow clients to pay with cash at local convenience stores, but the amounts are limited to NT$20,000 at a single store, the official said.
For trades between different types of cryptocurrency — such as investors exchanging ether for bitcoin — the commission is to require exchanges to report large transactions and to ensure they fulfill the “know your customer” requirements, Lin said.
The commission is to hold a public hearing next month with eight local exchanges, including Maicoin Ltd (現代財富科技), Ace Digital Innovations Co Ltd (王牌數位創新) and BitoPro, he said.
While some exchanges have reportedly required their clients to reopen their accounts to fulfill the “know your customer” requirements, the commission had not issued such an order, Lin said.
The commission’s regulation of the industry is to focus on customer identity authentication and “know your customer” requirements, personal data storage and information security, Lin added.
Companies that fail to comply with the new regulations would face fines of up to NT$10 million, the commission said.
Semiconductor stocks on Friday took a beating after a grim profit warning from Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc sparked fresh worries about the US’ earnings power as the country is potentially heading for a recession. Despite a broader stock market rally, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index dropped 3.8 percent after Micron, the largest maker of memory semiconductors in the US, flagged that demand was cooling for chips used in computers and smartphones. The index — which is home to US chip giants Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Nvidia Corp, as well as Micron — is down 38 percent this year. Historically, semiconductor
WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY: Costco Wholesale said it expected the purchase of the remaining 45 percent stake to add 1 to 1.5 percent to its earnings per share US-based Costco Wholesale Corp on Thursday said that it had purchased the remaining 45 percent stake in Costco President Taiwan Inc (台灣好市多) for US$1.05 billion, making the local company a fully-owned unit. “We estimate that the purchase would add about 1 to 1.5 percent to [our] earnings per share,” Costco said in a statement. Costco President Taiwan was established as a joint venture with Kaohsiung-based President Group (大統集團), which held a 45 percent stake. Since the first Costco store opened in Kaohsiung in 1997, 14 outlets have been set up in Taiwan, company data showed. PROFITABLE Three Costco stores in Taiwan — in Taipei’s Neihu
EXPANSION: The airline will offer two flights per week to Milan from Oct. 25, and four flights per week to Munich from Nov. 3 using its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday announced that it would begin nonstop flights from Taoyuan to Milan and Munich later this year, marking its first expansion in the European market in 25 years. Starting on Oct. 25, the airline will operate two flights per week between Taoyuan and Milan, implementing a plan that was scheduled for February 2020, but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns across the world. The airline will also launch four weekly flights to Munich, Germany, on Nov. 3, it said. The schedules for the two flights will cater to in-transit passengers, as they will arrive
A giant aviation deal from China on Friday underscored how trade tensions between Washington and Beijing can impact individual companies, with Boeing Co left looking on as rival Airbus SE scooped up orders worth at least US$37 billion. China’s top three airlines ordered almost 300 Airbus jets — one of the European plane maker’s biggest ever single-day deals — in the first major acquisitions since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions isolated the world’s second-largest economy. “It is disappointing that geopolitical differences continue to constrain US aircraft exports,” a Boeing spokesperson said, adding that sales to China historically support tens of thousands of US