Taiwan To Propose A Special Crypto Law Soon

Taiwan seems to have big plans by the end of the year. Check out the latest moves that the nation plans to make.

Lawmakers in Taiwan are planning to propose a special law to prevent regulatory arbitrage in light of growing concerns surrounding offshore exchanges.

Yung-Chang Chiang, a member of Taiwan’s parliament, believes that a dedicated crypto asset act is necessary to regulate crypto firms due to the significant differences between this asset class and traditional financial products.

To discuss the draft proposal, Chiang held a public hearing at the parliament which was attended by virtual asset services providers, legal experts, and academics.

Despite the Financial Supervisory Commission’s recent release of guidelines for the crypto sector to establish its own self-supervisory rules through a potential industry association, Chiang argues that these measures lack legal enforceability.

“In this case, under the authority of this special law, regulatory authorities can impose administrative penalties on operators who violate these self-regulation rules. Without such a special law, the regulators would lack the ability to impose penalties,” Chiang added.

Chiang has proposed a new law that would mandate all crypto platforms operating in Taiwan to apply for a permit. Failure to comply could result in regulators ordering them to shut down.

Currently, virtual asset service providers in Taiwan must comply with anti-money laundering laws since the FSC introduced new rules in July 2021. However, the crypto industry is mostly unregulated.

Chiang noted that many crypto platforms still operate in Taiwan without declaring AML compliance with the FSC. He added that if there’s no special law in place, regulators have limited options to address this issue.

Chiang explained that it’d be unlikely for the special law to go through three readings during the current legislative session, which is expected to conclude by the end of this year.

“An election is coming up, and the current legislative session focuses more on reviewing the government’s budget,” Chiang said.

Check out the original article shared by The Block in order to learn more details about the matter.