Taiwan

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-12Asia

Is crypto legal in Taiwan? (2026)

Yes — cryptocurrency is legal in Taiwan. Current status: Legal — licence regime enacted. Oversight sits with Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC). Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-12).

Framework: Virtual Asset Service Act (third reading passed 30 June 2026); Money Laundering Control Act AML-registration regime (since 30 November 2024).

Taiwan moved from registration to full licensing in stages. Amendments to the Money Laundering Control Act (announced 31 July 2024) required virtual asset service providers to complete AML registration; the FSC's Regulations Governing AML Registration for VASPs took effect on 30 November 2024, with unregistered activity punishable by up to two years' imprisonment or fines up to NT$5 million (up to NT$50 million for legal persons). The FSC then released a draft Virtual Asset Service Act on 25 March 2025; the Executive Yuan approved it on 2 April 2026 and the Legislative Yuan completed the third reading on 30 June 2026. The Act creates FSC licensing across seven service categories (exchanges, trading platforms, transfer, custody, underwriting, lending and other virtual-asset services), mandates customer-asset segregation, asset-listing review, internal controls and cybersecurity standards, and punishes unlicensed operation with up to seven years' imprisonment or fines up to NT$100 million. Stablecoin issuers need FSC approval granted in consultation with the central bank, full reserve backing held in trust with domestic institutions, and regular audited public disclosures. The Act is not yet in force: it awaits presidential promulgation and a commencement date to be set separately by the Executive Yuan. Once effective, existing AML-registered operators receive 12 months to apply and 21 months in total (extendable by three) to obtain a licence; the FSC expects roughly nine pieces of secondary legislation to complete the regime by early 2027.

Tax treatment

Per the Ministry of Finance's January 2025 written report to the Legislative Yuan's Finance Committee, individual crypto trading profits are taxable as property-transaction income under Article 14(1)(7) of the Income Tax Act, assessed within comprehensive income tax when crypto is converted to fiat. Crypto is classed as a virtual commodity, not currency, and does not enjoy the securities capital-gains exemption; gains remitted from overseas exchanges count as foreign income under the Alternative Minimum Tax, with a NT$1 million annual reporting threshold.

Travel rule applicability

Status: AML regime in force. VASP obligations on customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, record-keeping and suspicious-transaction reporting apply under the amended Money Laundering Control Act and the FSC's November 2024 registration regulations; the FSC has already sanctioned exchanges for deficiencies in these controls. Taiwan-specific transfer-data thresholds are pending verification by DeFi Intel.

Notable enforcement actions

• 2024. The FSC fined local exchanges MaiCoin and BitoPro NT$1.5 million each for AML violations spanning customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, record-keeping and suspicious-transaction reporting.
• 2024–2025. The 26 providers that had filed AML compliance statements by late November 2024 were required to complete FSC AML registration (applications by 31 March 2025, completion by 30 September 2025); operating without registration carries criminal penalties.

Public licensed CASP list

Taiwan's AML-registration regime recognised 26 approved providers as of November 2024, including MaiCoin and BitoPro. Under the Virtual Asset Service Act, the FSC will license VASPs across seven categories once implementing rules are issued; DeFi Intel will mirror the official register when the licence regime opens.

Comparison to neighbours

Compare Taiwan crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Doing business in Taiwan — practical notes

Serving Taiwan residents today requires FSC AML registration; a full Virtual Asset Service Act licence becomes mandatory within the transition window (12 months to apply from the Act's effective date, 21 months to obtain, with a possible three-month extension). Licensees must generally incorporate as a company limited by shares, meet minimum-capital and operational guarantee bond requirements, and pass fit-and-proper review of responsible persons. Stablecoin issuance is closed without joint FSC/central-bank approval and domestic reserve custody. Fraud and market-manipulation offences under the Act carry three-to-ten-year sentences and fines of NT$10–200 million.

Methodology and sources

This profile was researched and updated by DeFi Intel's research desk on 2026-07-12 from the primary and secondary sources listed below. Claims that could not be verified against a source are omitted or marked pending — we do not republish unverified third-party datasets. Submit corrections and primary-source links to [email protected].

Sources

• crypto.news — Taiwan passes Virtual Asset Service Act (30 June 2026)
• Lexology — Taiwan's Legislative Yuan Passes the Virtual Assets Service Act (commencement date to be set by the Executive Yuan)
• Stellex Law Firm — Taiwan drafts VASP Act (2025)
• AmCham Taiwan Business TOPICS — Virtual Asset Services Act (Sept 2025)
• Cointelegraph — Taiwan enforces AML registration mandate (Nov 2024)
• The Block — Taiwan fast-tracks crypto AML rules to Nov 30 (2024)
• Cryptonews — MaiCoin and BitoPro AML fines
• Taiwan crypto tax guide — MOF January 2025 report to Legislative Yuan