On June 12, 2025, Deputy Director Professor Yueh-Ping Yang of CIEL was invited by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan to attend the public hearing on the draft Virtual Asset Service Providers Act. Representing the research team commissioned by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), Professor Yang shared key legislative considerations underlying the draft bill.

The hearing was convened by Legislator Lai Hui-Yuan, with representatives from the FSC, the Central Bank, and the Ministry of Justice in attendance. Several legislators, including Lin Szu-Ming, Huang Shan-Shan, Mai Yu-Chen, Chung Chia-Pin, Lai Shyh-Bao, and Ko Ju Chun, also delivered remarks.

In his presentation, Professor Yang emphasized that the draft Act is not a wholesale transplant of any single foreign model, but rather a comparative synthesis of frameworks from the EU, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea, adjusted for Taiwan’s market characteristics. The core principle is to classify virtual asset service providers (VASPs) as financial institutions subject to financial supervision, complemented by criminal liability provisions to address enforcement challenges where regulators currently lack inspection authority over unlicensed operators.

Regarding stablecoin regulation, Professor Yang noted that the draft bill applies only to fiat-backed stablecoins, while stablecoins pegged to other virtual assets or commodities are neither explicitly regulated nor prohibited. He also explained that, rather than attempting to regulate all emerging virtual asset businesses at once, the draft prioritizes higher-risk activities—such as lending services with established market presence—while granting regulators flexibility to expand oversight incrementally as needed.

Overall, Professor Yang highlighted that the draft Virtual Asset Service Providers Act serves as a “principles-based framework law”, providing a comprehensive supervisory structure while leaving room for subsidiary regulations and administrative orders to adapt dynamically to technological change, thus avoiding rigid rules ill-suited to the fast-evolving industry.

The full transcript of the public hearing is available here:
https://ppg.ly.gov.tw/ppg/SittingAttachment/download/2025060251/PPGB60500_2100_20988_1140618_0004.pdf