Following the collapse of the market caused by FTX, Taiwanese Financial Supervisory Committee (FSC) is named as the island country’s primary crypto regulator as early as this month, reflecting from the announcement of Huan Tein-mu who is the chairman of the body. Collaborating with other government agencies and speaking with business groups, Taiwan’s cabinet and FSC have been developing a specific strategy.
While addressing the country’s parliament in regards to the crypto regulations in China on March 20, he pointed out that the separation of consumer assets from corporate money and investor protection procedures are only two of the key laws and policies that will be part of the FSC’s planned crypto regulatory framework. This will be the first time the country has nominated an authority over the industry unlike its usual passive approach.
According to Huang, the authority would adhere to the Executive Yuan’s directives and will take note particularly of the self regulation principles in the Taiwanese crypto business. He also added that the other virtual assets will be delegated by the cabinet to other government agencies, who also noted that non-fungible tokens will not be under the jurisdiction of the FSC.
Currently, the FSC only requires nationally registered crypto platforms to abide by its anti-money laundering rules. Huang believed that it is “way too early” to bring in a separate body just for the virtual assets. Local businesses are being urged by cryptocurrency exchanges to embrace less restrictive legislation.
The regulatory measures have been spearheaded by the FSC’s Banking Bureau, which oversees conventional lenders and has undertaken discussions with cryptocurrency exchange operators. However, other bureaus from the body could have a say in the final regulatory decision due to the complex nature of the commodity.
Meanwhile, the country’s neighbours have been vocal with their crypto stances. Hong Kong is moving forward with passing more industry-friendly legislation to transform the city into a crypto centre, however Singapore has suggested stricter regulations on retail cryptocurrency trading. This therefore will be an area Taiwan will specifically focus in the upcoming future.