Taiwan Financial Regulator ‘To Oversee Crypto’

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is to oversee crypto assets on the island, the head of the body said on Monday.

The FSC will initially be responsible for supervising crypto payments and transactions but will not address non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are still emerging as an asset class, Huang Tien-mu told lawmakers in parliament at a hearing about global banking and stability.

Huang said legislation devoted to crypto regulation could be considered at a later date and that it was still “way too early” to consider such an option, according to local and international media reports.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported on Sunday that an official announcement naming the FSC as the crypto regulator could come by the end of March.

‘Self-regulation’

Huang said the FSC would follow the cabinet’s instructions on the next steps, adding that the FSC would work with industry participants on “self-regulation measures”.

The initial moves to establish an official regulator for crypto follow the spectacular collapse of exchange FTX late last year, as Taiwanese citizens formed one of the most numerous of the exchange’s users.

Until now the island has taken a more hands-off approach than neighbors such as Hong Kong and Singapore, which are both pushing ahead with rules governing digital assets.

Crackdown

The FSC currently only requires crypto platforms to register domestically under anti-money laundering requirements.

The US, the EU, the UK and other governments are also bringing in measures to oversee the largely unregulated crypto industry.

Volatility in the cryptocurrency industry contributed to the collapse of several US banks earlier this month, notably Silicon Valley Bank.