Donald Trump's issuance of an official meme coin before taking office shocked the crypto community, with a market cap of $70 billion in just 30 hours, earning a lot of profits for early crypto investors. However, Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) currently requires virtual currency traders to register, and if crypto merchants provide trading services without registration, they may be subject to violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, raising concerns among many community members.
Trump didn't advertise in Taiwan, so it's not illegal
PTT Digital Currency Section Moderator DarkerDuck filed a complaint with the FSC, stating that Trump's issuance of a meme coin violated Taiwan's VASP-related regulations and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, aiming to highlight the shortcomings of the current regulations.
At the FSC's press conference in the new year, a BlockTempo reporter also asked related questions, and the Director-General of the Securities and Futures Bureau, Zhang Zhenshan, responded at the time that "Trump's issuance of a meme coin is a personal behavior, not a coin issued for Taiwanese people, so it cannot be applied to Taiwan's regulations, as long as he did not engage in marketing and advertising in Taiwan, these regulations do not apply."
The FSC Securities and Futures Bureau's response in the afternoon sparked a lot of discussion in the Taiwanese investment community, such as how to interpret "not a coin issued for Taiwanese people"? Does a coin issued for Taiwanese people mean a coin issued for Taiwanese people? Trump posting messages on his own X Twitter platform is considered "not marketing advertising"? Many questions have also become new concerns.
It can be observed that the FSC does not consider the issuance of tokens by foreign individuals, organizations, and legal entities, and transactions on DEX chains to be legal, and there is no way to manage them, which has inadvertently given more space for domestic citizens to operate finance on the blockchain.
The FSC attaches importance to financial innovation: Crypto-specific law public hearing in February
At the press conference, Chairman Peng Jinlong also repeatedly emphasized that the FSC attaches great importance to financial innovation, which is a very important direction for the development of the financial industry, and it is given the highest priority. For the VASP and crypto-specific law, a public hearing is planned for February, and it will be submitted to the Executive Yuan in June.
Previously, the opening of Bitcoin ETFs for professional investors was given investment qualifications, with an observation period of half a year to one year, and the Securities and Futures Bureau and related units will be invited for a review afterwards.
Regarding the supervision of stablecoins in the future, Peng Jinlong pointed out that the FSC will take on the role of joint management of the market with the Central Bank, while CDBC is the responsibility of the Central Bank.
