Taiwan's First Cryptocurrency-specific Law Proposal! Legislator Jiang Yongchang: Should Confront with a Specific Law

Legislator Jiang Yongchang held a press conference at the Legislative Yuan today, the 20th, announcing that he will propose Taiwan's first special law on virtual assets during this session.

Taiwan's Proposal for Special Cryptocurrency Law! Legislator Jiang Yongchang: Should Confront Head-On with Special Legislation

Jiang Yongchang stated that he hopes this draft law can stimulate discussions among the industry, government, and academia, leading to proposals from the executive branch. He mentioned that the development of virtual assets markets has reached a global market value of over one trillion US dollars, as estimated by the Financial Times. This indicates the significant market size of virtual assets. In the FTX incident, Taiwan's losses ranked seventh globally, with an estimated amount exceeding 60 billion New Taiwan dollars, highlighting the potential of Taiwan's virtual asset market.

Jiang Yongchang pointed out that since Taiwan has substantial potential in the virtual asset market and many industry players are investing in this market, unless the government believes that the virtual asset industry is just a passing trend that will disappear in the future, effective supervision and development should be implemented at this stage. They should confront it directly and formally regulate virtual asset operators with special legislation. Jiang Yongchang mentioned that although perfection is currently challenging, if the draft can receive feedback and amendments from various sectors, it will undoubtedly improve.

Taiwan's Special Cryptocurrency Law Proposal: Twelve Aspects, Tiered Management

Jiang Yongchang stated that this draft was completed with the assistance of lawyers, associations, and industry representatives. To address the current development of the virtual asset industry and prevent fraud or unethical operators, the draft defines the virtual asset industry as a licensed industry that must obtain permission from the competent authority to operate. It also includes management of the following twelve aspects:

1. The virtual asset industry is a licensed industry subject to tiered management;
2. All virtual asset operators must join associations and comply with the self-regulation standards of the associations;
3. Virtual asset operators may issue virtual assets for themselves or others;
4. Virtual asset operators may engage in virtual asset derivative products, services, and virtual asset derivative financial products;
5. Virtual asset operators must establish procedures for reviewing the listing and delisting of virtual assets, as well as trading rules;
6. Regulations on the separation of customer assets from virtual asset operators;
7. Agreements between virtual asset operators and customers, advertising and marketing regulations;
8. Cybersecurity regulations for virtual asset operators;
9. Regulations on anti-money laundering and internal control systems for virtual asset operators;
10. Compliance with financial supervision by the competent authority and cooperation with audits by the competent authority;
11. Establishment of a virtual asset fund to protect customer rights;
12. Prohibition of improper trading activities;

Lawyer Lin Hongyu: Establishing a Virtual Asset Law Draft to Align with International Regulatory Trends

Lin Hongyu, Chairman of the Bitcoin and Virtual Currency Development Association, stated that over the past two years, the association has been actively promoting the establishment of a virtual currency business industry association and representing the majority of virtual asset operators in Taiwan to various public and private sector representatives. They have successfully completed the application for the virtual currency business industry category. The future development of the blockchain industry and legal framework is closely related. The association will continue to represent various types of virtual asset operators in Taiwan, engage in inter-departmental communication, and strive to balance industry development needs with government regulatory requirements. After integrating industry and academic feedback, the special business license and tiered management spirit will be incorporated into the draft law, aligning with international regulatory trends.

Lawyer Cao Weijie, Vice Chairman of the Taiwan Virtual Asset Anti-Money Laundering Association, also expressed support for the promotion and legislation of special laws. The introduction of special laws indicates that Taiwan's development in virtual assets has expanded from previous anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing efforts to comprehensive regulation. This move will help strengthen the industry, create a more friendly industry environment, attract more industries to participate in virtual assets and the Web 3.0 field, and make Taiwan a virtual asset trading-friendly island. The association will continue to promote the establishment of anti-money laundering prevention and internal control systems in the special law, and uphold the principles of education and promotion, collaborating with investigative and regulatory units for education and training to expand knowledge of the virtual asset industry, dispelling misconceptions and making the public more willing to accept virtual assets.

Jiang Yongchang mentioned that this special law has three main objectives: to strengthen the supervision of virtual asset operators, reduce compliance costs for virtual asset operators, establish order in the virtual asset market, and improve customer rights protection. Jiang Yongchang called for the introduction of regulations on virtual asset trading and business management, hoping to stimulate discussions among the industry, government, and academia on the content of special regulations for virtual assets and urge the Financial Supervisory Commission to promptly propose a draft law, allowing all sectors to join the discussion and jointly establish a sound regulatory and legal framework for virtual asset supervision and development!