The Virtual Currency Business Association of the Republic of China (referred to as the Virtual Currency Association) held its first inaugural member meeting on June 13, with 24 operators listed in the Financial Supervisory Commission (referred to as the FSC) “List of Operators who have complied with Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Virtual Currency Platforms and Trading Businesses” joining the association. During the first joint meeting of the board of directors and supervisors, Zheng Guangtai, Co-founder and CEO of BitoPro, was elected as the first chairman, and Hsu Hui-Tsung, Co-founder and Group Revenue Officer of XREX, was elected as the first vice chairman.
Chairman Huang Hsi-He and Chief of Securities Firms Management Group from the Securities and Futures Bureau of the Financial Supervisory Commission attended to provide guidance, with Huang stating, “The FSC attaches great importance to the development of the virtual asset industry. We believe that the healthy development of this industry is closely related to social and economic development. The establishment of the association will bring more cooperation and consensus to the industry, promote compliance, standardization, and healthy development in the industry to ensure its safety, transparency, and stability, and enhance consumer protection. He also emphasized that the FSC will strengthen cooperation with the Virtual Currency Association in the future to enhance customer rights protection, improve the industry’s reputation and image, and promote sound development of the industry.
Chairman Zheng Guangtai stated, “I am honored to be elected as the first chairman of the Virtual Currency Association. Taiwan has a lot of talent and opportunities, and I hope to integrate resources in the future to build a solid foundation for the blockchain industry in Taiwan and establish reasonable and effective self-regulatory norms.”
According to Chairman Peng Chin-lung of the FSC’s report to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan on June 12 on the “Draft Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Enactment of the Prevention of Fraudulent Crimes Act on the Prevention of Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) from Becoming Tools for Fraud” and “Progress in the Establishment of Special Laws for Virtual Assets,” the management of VASP-related matters will be divided into four stages:
Phase One: Issuance of the “Prevention of Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Measures for Virtual Currency Platforms and Trading Businesses,” beginning VASP regulation.
Phase Two: Promotion of the establishment of VASP industry associations and the formulation of self-regulatory norms for management.
Phase Three: Amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act to include VASP registration, clarify VASP definitions, impose criminal liability on illegal operators, and consider differentiated management in subsidiary laws.
Phase Four: Promote the enactment of special laws for virtual asset management to effectively regulate market behavior, and promote the healthy development of financial technology and VASP industries.
The official establishment of the Virtual Currency Association symbolizes Taiwan’s gradual promotion of regulation, currently at a critical moment in the second phase. The phased regulatory model in Taiwan has gained unanimous support from operators, demonstrating the power of public-private cooperation and becoming an international regulatory paradigm for new technologies! Assisting the development of the virtual currency industry in Taiwan to establish itself in Taiwan and look to the international arena.
The Virtual Currency Association is a “regulatory-type” association established in accordance with the FSC’s “Guidelines for Managing Virtual Asset Platforms and Trading Businesses,” serving as the industry’s only direct communication channel with the government. Its primary task after establishment is to formulate self-regulatory norms, implement proper classification and management of operators, build an industry chain and ecosystem, meet government expectations, and protect consumer rights. The Virtual Currency Association expresses high confidence in this, aiming to demonstrate through substantive self-regulation results that operator self-regulation is practical, feasible, and meets societal expectations.
During the preparatory stage, the Virtual Currency Association has been working with the Ministry of Justice and various units on anti-fraud, anti-money laundering, and establishing joint defense mechanisms, with plans to continue contributing to industry technology to assist law enforcement, significantly reduce industry risks and negative events, remove the industry’s stigmatization, and establish a clean, safe, and sustainable industry environment. The formulation and implementation of self-regulatory norms will be the most solid foundation to achieve this goal.
Former Executive Yuan Political Deputy Minister and current Honorary Chairman of the Taiwan FinTech Association, Tsai Yu-ling, has been guiding and supporting operators in establishing the association and serving as the chief advisor since September last year. She stated, “Together, we will make this virtual currency industry a trusted industry. There have been many doubts from the outside during the establishment of the association, but the regulatory authorities have given operators the opportunity for self-regulation. We must cherish the goodwill of the regulatory authorities, unite as operators without blaming each other, and practice a model of innovative regulation.”