The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is mulling legislation to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, or virtual assets, and demanding that virtual asset service providers (VASPs) secure permits within 15 months of the legislation’s promulgation.
The planned legislation would set different capital requirements based on which aspect of VASPs are involved in, the FSC said.
All VASPs would be considered financial institutions, and personal trading would not be legal after the legislation is promulgated, it said.
Photo: CNA
Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies whose values are pegged to a reference asset, are currently not considered under FSC jurisdiction, but would be regulated by the committee once the legislation is promulgated.
FSC Chairman Peng Jin-lung (彭金隆) in a news conference on Wednesday last week said that stablecoins would help bridge fiat money and cryptocurrency, adding that the FSC and the central bank would jointly oversee the stablecoin market.
The FSC said it would enforce previous demands that operators keep their assets separate from those of clients and observe information transparency to uphold client interests and rights.
Once control and oversight measures for cryptocurrencies have been established, cryptocurrencies would serve as alternative investment channels, it said.
After crypto exchange FTX Trading Ltd went bankrupt in November 2022, in which many people worldwide suffered losses, the Executive Yuan in March 2023 designated the FSC as the competent authority in Taiwan to avoid similar risks.
The FSC said it has implemented oversight gradually.
The committee said it would hold a public hearing this month involving industry members and academics to get their feedback on the draft legislation.
The draft legislation is expected to be revealed next month and be forwarded to the Executive Yuan in June, after which it would head to the Legislative Yuan, the committee said.
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