Taiwan Banker: VASP Special Law and Subordinate Laws, Building a Triangular Supervision Framework

The inclusion of anti-money laundering awareness in the Virtual Asset Special Law, if substantively linked with subordinate regulations, will be able to build a complete digital financial defense line. On June 30, 2026, the Legislative Yuan passed the Virtual Asset Service Act in a third reading, clearly stating that virtual asset service providers (VASPs) must obtain approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission and setting a special chapter on the issuance and management of stablecoins. This legislation has made Taiwan's virtual asset oversight, since the 2018 Anti-Money Laundering Act included virtual asset service platforms as anti-money laundering obligated entities, officially move towards a comprehensive framework that combines business licensing and anti-money laundering. However, a detailed examination of the legislative background reveals that it is a response to the continuously increasing regulatory requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in recent years, as well as the international trend of major jurisdictions such as the United States, the European Union, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea successively strengthening virtual asset anti-money laundering measures.