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Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission has released draft rules that would allow only banks, companies invested in by banks or financial holding groups, and other institutions the regulator designates to apply to issue stablecoins, bne IntelliNews reported, citing Taiwan Times. The proposals are among three sets of regulations drafted under the Virtual Asset Service Act, and they set out how stablecoins will be issued and managed on the island.
The draft sets a two-tier ownership test on issuers. A single bank or financial holding company would have to own more than 25% of the issuing entity, and banks and financial holding companies together would have to own more than 50%, according to the report. Wang Yun-chung, deputy director-general of the FSC's Banking Bureau, said that non-financial companies, such as technology firms, that want to issue stablecoins would face two hurdles, and that within that structure one bank or financial holding company would still need to hold more than 25%.
The FSC will publish a general explanation and an article-by-article comparison table on its website, and the rules would take effect on the same date as the Virtual Asset Service Act.
The Legislative Yuan passed the act on June 30, creating Taiwan's first dedicated crypto statute. Blockhead reported at the time that the law made the Financial Supervisory Commission the sole regulator and gated domestic stablecoin issuance three ways: only banks may issue, the token must be pegged solely to a fiat currency, and issuers must hold full one-to-one reserves segregated from company funds and placed in trust. TRM Labs' summary of the act adds that issuance needs both the central bank's agreement and FSC permission, and that paying interest or yield is prohibited.
The draft rules therefore turn "only banks" into a precise test. The proposal also covers companies in which banks have invested, which could leave room for joint ventures that include non-bank partners, as long as the bank thresholds are met.
Taiwan's design is close to Hong Kong's, where regulators gave the first stablecoin licences to bank-linked issuers. Blockhead argued in April that Hong Kong's stablecoin revolution would be whitelisted, with the first licences going to HSBC and a Standard Chartered-led venture, and reported in August that Anchorpoint's HKD stablecoin began moving real money in a controlled first phase. Taiwan's rules would appear to produce a similar structure: a small group of regulated issuers working with banks, and no direct route for a technology company on its own.
The path for foreign stablecoins is separate. Blockhead's July report noted that the law requires offshore providers to set up a local branch and obtain FSC approval, and that USDT is reclassified as a commodity.
The reports do not say when the rules will take effect beyond tying them to the act's start date, which an APAC regulation explainer puts at the first quarter of 2027 at the earliest. They also do not say how many banks have applied to issue, which currency stablecoins would be pegged to, or how the central bank will use its consent power. The FSC's explanatory documents, once posted, should show whether the 25% and 50% thresholds are final or subject to change after consultation.
