P2P trading is completely illegal! Taiwan's FSC shouts 'individual currency trading will be banned for seven years', VASP special law draft to be sent to the Executive Yuan in June

According to the draft, the FSC is currently planning to adopt a "concession system" to regulate VASP operators, and in the future, if operators want to conduct virtual asset trading transactions such as BTC, they must obtain a license from the FSC to undertake them, and if they do not approve the transactions, they may face up to 7 years of criminal liability. (Synopsis: Taiwan's cryptocurrency taxation provokes public resentment "unwithdrawn funds must also be declared", the Ministry of Finance and the FSC each play their own games? (Background supplement: Taiwan's Financial Regulatory Commission unveiled the "Financial Market Innovation Department", and sent a letter on the same day to warn encryption users: Arrest all Money Laundering!) The Taiwan FSC manages virtual asset operators in four phases, Phase 1 is managed in accordance with the Money Laundering Prevention Act, which stipulates that VASP operators must complete a legal compliance declaration with the FSC, Phase 2 establishes a VASP Association to formulate guidelines and self-regulatory norms, and Phase 3 formulates a sub-law in the Money Laundering Prevention Act and adds a "registration system". The FSC implemented the third phase of the "registration system" at the end of November last year, requiring virtual asset operators to complete registration by the end of September 2025, otherwise they are prohibited from continuing to operate, while the fourth stage is to set up a special law, the FSC plans to adopt a "concession system" to regulate VASP operators, and those who do not approve or obtain a license will be criminally liable. According to a recent report by the Economic Daily, according to the draft law on virtual assets and trading business (VASP) currently developed by the FSC, in the future, if virtual asset operators want to carry out trading transactions of virtual assets such as BTC, they must apply to the FSC in advance for a license before they can undertake. The FSC and the outsourced research units have drafted the VASP special law, which has five major supervision priorities, including the licensing conditions of the industry, the protection of traders, asset custody, market transaction behavior norms and industrial development. The research team provided the draft articles of the FSC at the end of September last year with reference to the norms or suggestions of the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the Financial Action Working Group (FATF) and the International Organization of Securities Regulators (IOSCO). According to the planning of the FSC, experts and scholars, VASP associations and industry members will be invited to hold public hearings in February 2025, and the draft articles will be adjusted according to external opinions to announce the regulations, and the draft will be submitted to the Executive Yuan before the end of June 2025. Five differences between the concession system and the registration system It is reported that the draft VASP special law has seven chapters, including general provisions, virtual asset service providers, VASP association management, Stable Coinissuance and management, management and supervision, penalties and supplementary provisions, and the current VASP "registration system" has five major differences, including financial management, financial statements, qualifications for responsible persons, criminal liability and administrative sanctions: Financial management: Virtual asset operators will be divided into virtual asset exchangers, There are five categories of trading platform providers, transfer providers, custodians and underwriters, and according to these five business categories, different minimum capital application thresholds are formulated, and if the industry undertakes two businesses at the same time, such as both exchange and trading platforms, the minimum application capital will be calculated together. Financial Statements: In the past, the registration system could only be used against Money Laundering, and in the future, in addition to the minimum capital requirements, these VASP operators will also need to issue financial statements. Eligibility requirements for responsible persons: The current registration system only regulates the "negative" qualifications of responsible persons, such as not being able to commit adultery, and future responsible persons need to meet qualification conditions, such as professional business capabilities. Criminal liability: According to the current registration system, VASP operators who start without registration and approval are sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of less than two years and a fine of 5 million yuan; In the future, after moving towards the "concession system", the penalty for operating a business without issuing a license will be increased. Administrative sanctions: There are no administrative sanctions under the current registration system, and after VASP moves towards a concession system, once it violates the rules, it will be punished and restricted business. Others will also include exit mechanisms and customer protection measures. P2P transactions may all be illegal In response to the current plan of the FSC, an anonymous expert with six years of experience in the industry said that the current Money Laundering Prevention Law and related regulations do not clearly stipulate what the definition of "coin dealer" and "legal p2p transaction" is, which will raise doubts about the business scope and compliance standards of the industry, and if the future regulations are still unclear, it will greatly limit the use and development of cryptocurrency in Taiwan. Experts are worried that if the special law is passed, if the details and principles are not clearly written, the anti-corruption police who implement the ban may not be able to distinguish between what is "individual coin trader" and "ordinary cryptocurrency transaction", which is actually the Cryptocurrency P2P transaction under the table may all enter the scope of banning, which will directly impact the legal circulation and application of cryptocurrency in Taiwan. In terms of brand marketing and other applications, it may be wiped out in Taiwan. Experts also called for the huge impact of the law, if the industry expects to be affected and has opinions on the law, it should express its views through the financial regulatory committee's public opinion box as soon as possible on the content and direction of the VASP special law, and also called on the government to fully hold public hearings and listen to the opinions of the people before implementing the law, so as not to cause fraud in the name of the law and actually disturb the people: Related reports Taiwan's Financial Regulatory Commission opens "financial industry custody BTC": 5 banks have expressed interest, and applications will be accepted on New Year's Day next year MaiCoin, Coin trust exchange was fined 1.5 million yuan by the Financial Regulatory Commission for violating the Money Laundering Prevention Law, cracking down on fraud" network "advertising real-name system" will be implemented on New Year's Day next year, financial management committee: VASP registration system will be on the road at the end of the year 〈P2P transactions are all illegal! Taiwan's Financial Regulatory Commission shouted "seven years of personal coin business", and the draft of the VASP special law was sent to the Executive Yuan in June" This article was first published in BlockTempo "Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Block Chain News Media".