Taiwan Sends Crypto Platforms To FSC Licensing

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan approved the Virtual Asset Service Act on Tuesday, moving the bill to President Lai Ching-te for formal signing.

The law shifts crypto oversight from basic anti-money-laundering registration toward full licensing for virtual asset service providers.

The new framework requires cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms to obtain explicit approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission before they can operate legally in Taiwan.

The law also adds requirements for cybersecurity protections, separation of customer funds from company assets, internal governance and risk management.

The bill has not taken effect yet.

Formal signing by the president remains the next step, and the Executive Yuan still has to publish the date when the rules begin.

The approval also gives Taiwan a clearer supervisory chain for digital-asset firms.

The FSC becomes the licensing authority for virtual asset platforms, while the central bank gains a separate approval role for stablecoin businesses.

Existing AML Registrants Get A Grace Period

Taiwan's existing crypto businesses have a transition path, but it is not open-ended.

Platforms already registered for anti-money-laundering compliance will have a 12-month grace period to submit license applications.

Those companies then face an overall 21-month window for full FSC approval and any other permits required by the new law.

The timetable gives current operators time to move from registration to licensing, while still giving the regulator a fixed deadline for bringing the sector under the new act.

The law also changes the custody baseline.

Virtual asset service providers must keep customer funds separate from company assets, a requirement that pushes exchange operations closer to regulated financial-market controls than to a simple registration regime.

Stablecoins Face Reserve And Dual-Approval Rules

Stablecoin operators face stricter conditions than general crypto platforms.

They must obtain approval from both the central bank and the FSC, and they must maintain 100% asset reserves at all times.

The law treats stablecoins as a separate risk category because their value is pegged to an external reference such as the U.S. dollar or another national currency.

The public details name reserve backing and dual approval, but they do not identify approved issuers or a first stablecoin application under the new framework.

Penalties are also explicit.

A company that runs a crypto platform or stablecoin service without authorization could face as much as seven years in prison and a fine capped at NT$100 million, about $3.14 million.

For market fraud or price manipulation, the punishment range rises to three-to-ten years in prison, with fines starting at NT$10 million and reaching NT$200 million.

Start Date And First Approvals Remain Unnamed

Taiwan's law gives the FSC a licensing gate, the central bank a role in stablecoin approvals and operators a defined transition period.

It also sets reserve, custody and governance standards before the country names any successful applicants under the new regime.

The Executive Yuan has not published the official start date, and the public details do not name the first licensed virtual asset service providers, approved stablecoin issuers or enforcement timetable beyond the transition periods.