Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced on November 3, 2026 that it has drafted a regulatory package for licensed stablecoin issuance, anchored by a paid-in capital floor of NT$300 million for nonbank issuers. The drafts also mandate one-to-one currency pegs, reserves held at full fair value, and anti-money-laundering (AML) obligations. A 40-day public comment window will open once the drafts are formally posted.

The framing behind the package is straightforward. Taipei is not asking who can mint a token; it is asking who can stand behind a peg with balance-sheet weight, audits, and freeze capacity.

What the FSC Draft Requires

According to a November 3 press release, the FSC has prepared three legal instruments. The first is a draft Stablecoin Issuance Permit and Management Regulations. The other two amend the Regulations Governing Anti-Money Laundering of Financial Institutions and the bank AML/CFT internal-control rules. Once gazetted, the drafts will be posted on the FSC's website for public comment under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Eligible applicants fall into three categories. Banks may apply, as may companies invested in by a financial holding company or a bank, and the FSC may announce additional eligible entities later. Nonbank issuers face the most demanding gate: they must hold at least NT$300 million in paid-in capital (about US$9.4 million at an exchange rate of NT$32), complete a public offering, and operate a dedicated business limited to stablecoin issuance and redemption.

The draft also constrains what may be issued. Tokens must track the New Taiwan dollar or a single foreign currency on a one-to-one basis, and issuers must verify the identity of subscribers and redeemers before processing those transactions. Reserve assets, marked at fair value, must at least match the tokens in circulation. Issuers are required to commission regular CPA audits, build internal controls, business-continuity procedures, and information-security systems, and restrict transfers or dispositions promptly when competent authorities lawfully order it. They must also file financial and business data with both the FSC and the Central Bank, and meet prescribed public-disclosure content and frequency requirements.

On the AML side, the FSC plans to designate stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under Article 5, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 18 of the Money Laundering Control Act, which would bring the full financial-institution AML rulebook into play. That placement situates the draft within Taiwan's broader crypto regulation stack rather than in a separate lane for tokens alone.

Why the Capital Floor Matters

The draft presses a recurring question: when a private token claims to be worth one unit of currency, what makes that promise credible enough to warrant a licence?

Capital itself is not the peg — reserves are. But a NT$300 million paid-in floor raises the cost of entry for nonbank issuers, as do the public-offering duty and the narrow issuance-only charter. Together, these requirements filter out thin shells before the reserve test even begins. The fair-value reserve rule then ties the circulating float to assets marked at market value rather than hopeful book values, while CPA audits and Central Bank reporting add a second clock on whether that match still holds.

The freeze-and-restrict language is the other signal. A licensed Taiwanese issuer is expected to move quickly when authorities order a block — a design closer to a regulated payments instrument than to an open bearer token that nobody can pause.

Not Final Law Yet

None of these rules are in force. The Virtual Asset Service Act was promulgated on July 22, 2026, but its effective date still sits with the Executive Yuan. The FSC says the stablecoin package will take effect in step with that Act once comments are collected, with the comment period running 40 days from the day after formal announcement. Until then, the capital floor, peg limits, and AML designation remain draft policy, not live licensing.

What the draft does settle, for now, is the shape of the bar. Nonbank aspirants need NT$300 million in paid-in capital, a single-currency peg, full fair-value coverage, and the compliance apparatus of a financial institution. The peg promise remains the same question it has always been — and Taiwan's answer begins with who is allowed to make it.

Source: Live Bitcoin News