Golden Finance reports that on Wednesday (June 12th), a highly anticipated public hearing on the “Virtual Asset Services Law” will be held in Taiwan, China. This public hearing focused on the regulatory issues of stablecoins. Taiwan’s regulatory authorities believe that stablecoins currently mainly serve as a medium of exchange in virtual markets. However, as its usage scale continues to expand and application scenarios keep increasing, especially with its wide application in the cross-border payment field, it is highly likely to have an impact on the stable operation of the existing payment and financial system.
In light of this, the regulatory authorities propose that stablecoins used for payment purposes should be subject to the same regulatory standards as current electronic payments, adhering to the principle of “the same business, the same risk, and the same norms”. This measure is aimed at preventing regulatory arbitrage and avoiding the emergence of unfair competition. At present, many major countries have begun to incorporate stablecoins with payment nature into their regulatory systems. Countries such as Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom have achieved this goal by amending existing payment regulations; The European Union and the Hong Kong region of China have formulated special laws. Although the United States has not yet established a unified regulatory framework at the federal level for each state to manage independently, recently, both the House of Representatives and the Senate have respectively proposed federal-level regulatory frameworks for payment-type stablecoins.
Financial regulatory authorities in Taiwan region have been closely monitoring the development trends in the field of virtual assets. As early as 2021, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) of Taiwan introduced anti-money laundering (AML) regulations for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), requiring relevant practitioners to make compliance declarations. This year, the FSC further drafted new anti-money laundering regulations, stipulating that as of January 1, 2025, VASPs must complete anti-money laundering compliance registration by September 2025; otherwise, they will face criminal penalties. Including a maximum of two years in prison and a fine of up to NT $5 million (approximately US $155,900). In addition, the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan also plans to propose a draft of the special Act on Virtual Asset management by the end of this year and submit the draft to the Executive Yuan by June next year.
The holding of this public hearing on the “Virtual Asset Services Law” has provided a platform for all sectors to deeply discuss the regulation of stablecoins. By extensively soliciting opinions from all parties, it is expected to further improve the regulatory framework, promote the healthy and orderly development of the virtual asset industry in Taiwan region, and at the same time better maintain the stability of the financial system and the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. As the public hearing progresses, the specific direction of the relevant regulatory policies will gradually become clear, and all market participants are waiting to see.
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