Key Takeaways
Taiwan handed the Digital Asset Service Act on June 30, making the FSC the only crypto regulator.Untrusted stablecoin issuers or unlicensed VASPs withstand 7 years in jail and $3.1M fines beneath the legislation.The FSC should draft roughly 9 items of secondary laws to completely launch the foundations by early 2027.
Strict Licensing and Operational Necessities
Taiwan’s Legislature on June 30 authorised the Digital Asset Service Act, establishing the island’s first devoted cryptocurrency legislation and designating the Monetary Supervisory Fee (FSC) as the only regulator. Based on reviews, the 56‑article statute replaces an anti‑cash‑laundering registration system with necessary licensing for all digital asset service suppliers.
Below the regime, exchanges, custodians and pockets operators should receive FSC approval and meet necessities for inner controls, cybersecurity and enterprise continuity. Suppliers should safe separate licenses throughout seven classes — alternate, buying and selling platform, switch, custody, underwriting, lending and others — ending the apply of providing a number of providers beneath a single registration. The foundations are anticipated to take impact by early 2027.
Eight incumbents who beforehand accomplished anti-money laundering (AML) registration could have 12 months to use for licenses and 21 months to acquire certification as soon as the legislation takes impact, with a doable three‑month extension.
The act additionally creates Taiwan’s first stablecoin framework. Home issuance is proscribed to banks, and tokens should be pegged solely to fiat currencies. As well as, issuers should keep full one‑to‑one reserves segregated from firm funds and positioned in belief with home monetary establishments.
Overseas-issued stablecoins similar to USDT and USDC will probably be handled as regulated commodities and would require FSC approval for itemizing on licensed exchanges. Working a digital asset service supplier (VASPs) or issuing stablecoins with out authorization is punishable by as much as seven years in jail and fines of as much as $3.1 million (NT$100 million).
The FSC should draft roughly 9 items of secondary laws by early 2027. The Digital Asset Service Supplier Affiliation mentioned it will help corporations by means of implementing guidelines masking institution, personnel administration, inner controls, irregular‑transaction monitoring, outsourcing and monetary‑assertion preparation. It’s going to additionally function committees for itemizing overview, self-discipline and fraud‑prevention compliance.
Lawmakers additionally adopted a nonbinding decision requesting the FSC to submit, inside one yr, a plan to permit licensed corporations to supply cryptocurrency derivatives.
