Mais rápido, terceira leitura em junho! Lei de Serviços de Ativos Virtuais aprovada na primeira fase de revisão, pontos principais da versão preliminar e cronograma de implementação de uma só vez

Taiwan's first dedicated crypto law, the "Virtual Assets Service Act," has passed the initial review in the Legislative Yuan, bringing the industry under a licensing system. The bill covers stablecoin management and derivative planning, with a third reading expected as early as June this year. When is the full implementation most likely to occur?

Taiwan's first dedicated crypto law! Draft of the Virtual Assets Service Act passes initial review

Yesterday (6/3), the Legislative Yuan's Finance Committee conducted a line-by-line review of the draft of the "Virtual Assets Service Act," successfully completing the initial review after a full day of discussion. This is also Taiwan's first-ever dedicated crypto legislation in history.

The review gathered 12 versions proposed by the Executive Yuan, the Democratic Progressive Party caucus, and cross-party legislators, reaching consensus in the committee. Financial Supervisory Commission Chair Peng Jinlong revealed that future regulations will be designed with differentiated supervisory frameworks and capital requirements based on the risk level of different businesses, balancing financial security and industry innovation.

Five core points of the initial review version of the Virtual Assets Service Act

Based on reports from the Commercial Times, Economic Daily News, and Central News Agency, the draft approved in the initial review will elevate the virtual assets industry from the current anti-money laundering registration system to a licensing system for permitted businesses.

Below is a summary of the main points of the initial review version (scrollable table for mobile reading):

| Category | Key Points of the Initial Review of the Virtual Assets Service Act | | --- | --- | | Licenses and Business | Regulates virtual asset service providers (VASP) to apply to the Financial Supervisory Commission within 12 months after the law takes effect, and obtain permits within 21 months. Existing registered 8 operators will have a maximum transition buffer of 2 years. Business scope includes exchanges, trading platforms, transfers, custody, underwriting, and lending services. | | Stablecoin Issuance | Stablecoin issuers must apply for permission from the FSC and consult with the Central Bank. Issuers must set aside and maintain fully backed reserve assets, stored with domestic financial institutions, independent of their own assets, and held in trust. Additionally, stablecoin issuers are not allowed to pay any form of interest or yield. | | Derivative Planning | The Finance Committee passed a resolution requiring the FSC to complete service planning for virtual asset derivatives (such as options, dual-currency wealth management, etc.) within 1 year after the law's passage and to draft relevant制度 proposals. | | Product Listing and Delisting | Future management of trading platforms will adopt a filing system. Virtual asset service providers must complete product listing and delisting reviews themselves before applying for filing with the FSC. This mechanism offers more supervisory flexibility and market efficiency compared to case-by-case review. | | Nine Sub-laws | After the parent law is passed, subsequent supervisory details will be supplemented by nine sub-laws, covering capital requirements, operational guarantees, personnel qualifications, restrictions on offshore platforms, and management regulations for various businesses. |

Virtual Assets Service Act passes initial review, cross-party legislators and FSC opinions

Regarding the progress of the "Virtual Assets Service Act" draft, cross-party legislators and the FSC Chair have expressed their views, summarized as follows:

• Legislator Li Yanshou: Estimates that the bill may complete second and third readings by June, laying the institutional foundation for financial technology innovation and effectively safeguarding traders' rights.
• Legislator Ge Rujun: Thanks cross-party members for their support, allowing the provisions to reach consensus without negotiation, and hopes Taiwan can become a global digital financial center through early development.
• Legislator Lin Siming: Cites IMF statistics indicating the global virtual assets market is approaching 3.5 trillion USD. He advocates that if financial institutions engage in related businesses in the future, they should be subject to the same supervisory standards, and establish abnormal price-volume monitoring and unfair trading detection systems.
• Legislator Lai Huiyuan: Focuses on transparency and risk control, demanding that authorities regularly disclose and update the list of compliant service providers and trading statistics in real-time. Also suggests tiered management based on business scale and grants authorities the power to intervene and impose restrictions when operators behave abnormally.
• FSC Chair Peng Jinlong: Responds to concerns about personnel qualification requirements, stating that qualification criteria will be set in sub-laws, with at least a 1-year adjustment period for personnel, extendable by 6 months if necessary, to help the industry smoothly transition to the new system.

Image source: Li Yanshou's Facebook Post Virtual Assets Service Act passes initial review, cross-party legislators and FSC comment

If the Virtual Assets Service Act is passed, when will full implementation occur in 2027?

According to the legislative process in the Legislative Yuan, generally, after a bill completes its initial review and if it is decided not to submit it for caucus negotiations, it will be directly sent to the plenary session for second and third readings.

During the second reading, extensive and line-by-line discussions will be held. After the second reading, the bill will typically proceed to the third reading in the next session, where amendments are made, and the entire bill is voted on. Once the third reading is approved, the law will be promulgated by the President, who should do so within 10 days of receipt.

Image source: Taiwan Legislative Yuan legislative process

If the "Virtual Assets Service Act" passes the third reading smoothly and is promulgated by the President, based on the provisions of the initial review, the FSC must submit a derivative product planning proposal within 1 year. The nine sub-laws, such as the soon-to-be-issued bank custody guidelines for cryptocurrencies (expected around late September to early October this year) and personnel qualification regulations, will also be gradually finalized.

Therefore, the comprehensive licensing and supervision system, including sub-laws, is expected to be fully implemented within 1 to 2 years after the law's promulgation, most likely in the first half of 2027, and possibly as late as 2028, as operators' license application deadlines expire and the system is fully rolled out.

Further reading:
Making Taiwan a digital asset hub! Legislators propose VASP tax incentives and domestic Bitcoin ETF issuance

Economic Daily News reports "these 6 banks" may pioneer stablecoins! What are the opportunities for Taiwan's stablecoin industry?

Taiwan crypto scene turns new page! Ic Card connects with virtual assets, Federal Bank: Future investment trusts may issue crypto ETFs