Taiwan also suddenly allows stablecoins…first launch expected next year

Taiwan is seeking to introduce a stablecoin as early as next year.

On the 3rd (local time), according to local media such as Focus Taiwan, Peng Jin-lung, chairman of the Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said, "A stablecoin could be launched on the market as early as the second half of next year." Peng Jin-lung said, "The 'Virtual Asset Service Act' should be included in the agenda of the Legislative Yuan (parliament) for this session," and added, "(If the bill is passed) a six-month buffer period until it takes effect will be necessary."

The Virtual Asset Service Act is the stablecoin regulatory bill that Taiwan is pursuing. According to the bill, Taiwan plans to limit the issuers of stablecoins to financial institutions in the initial stage of introduction. Peng Jin-lung said, "(The draft bill) follows the European Union's (EU) regulation of the virtual asset market." This means it had the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which the EU adopted at the end of last year, in mind.

However, the fiat currency underpinning the stablecoin has not yet been decided. Peng Jin-lung said, "The value of the stablecoin could be pegged to the US dollar or the New Taiwan dollar depending on market demand, but nothing has been decided yet."