Taiwan intends to publish the first draft of a new legal framework in mid-2019, with which they intend to regulate Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
According to the information provided by the Taiwanese newspaper Taipei Times, during a meeting, the chairman of Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Wellington Koo stated that they have been working on the creation of a regulatory framework for ICOs, which will possibly be released in June next year.
This decision is intended to simplifying the process for investors as well as making tokens just as liquid as stocks.
According to the Taiwanese newspaper, the statements were made in response to a question made by legislator William Tseng, who asked about government plans to regulate ICOs, based on a report published earlier this year by Satis Group, which claimed that 81 % of ICOs had turned out to be scams.
During the meeting, it was also clarified that the regulations that were being prepared won’t be applied to all tokens.
“Tokens exchanged for goods, such as those used in accruing points at convenience stores or mileage points accepted by airlines, would not be covered by the standards,” the Taipei Times said.
In addition, Koo explained the measure aims to avoid the enactment of laws that discourage the sector’s innovation.
Favorable Position
Information on the position of Taiwan regarding ICOs and cryptocurrencies was published for the first time at the beginning of October 2017.
At that time, local media quoted Koo, who indicated in a joint parliament and cabinet session that Taiwan would not follow the footsteps of China and South Korea in regards to the absolute ban on any cryptocurrency-related activities. Although in the case of South Korea, it has relaxed its prohibitive policies and little by little has incorporated crypto actives into its financial ecosystem.
It was also learned that the reasons for not regulating against the ICOs were based on the fact that for Koo, it was more appropriate to create an environment that would allow the development and adoption of Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in Taiwan.
Other legislators such as Jason Hsu also spoke in favor of favorable policies for the digital currency. “Just because China and South Korea are banning, it does not mean that Taiwan should follow the same example. There is a great opportunity for growth in the future”, he said.
For the moment, there’s nothing to do but wait until next June to know in detail which statutes will rule the ICOs in the Asian country.
