Taiwan Opens Stablecoin Licensing to Three Categories, Requires NT$300 Million Capital for Non-Banks
Key Facts
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission said on November 3, 2026, that it had prepared draft rules for licensing and managing stablecoin issuance, along with two draft amendments to anti-money-laundering rules. The commission said the drafts would soon be formally announced for public comment, setting conditions for issuers, reserves and oversight of the activity. The draft opens applications for licenses to banks, joint-stock companies invested in by a financial holding company or a bank, and other categories the commission may declare eligible. The proposed framework is therefore not limited to banks and companies they invest in, and it does not automatically make non-financial companies eligible. Licensing is based on the Virtual Asset Services Act, which requires central bank approval before the competent authority may grant permission to issue.
The draft sets a minimum paid-in capital requirement of NT$300 million for a non-bank issuer. It also requires the issuer to make a public offering and restrict its activities to issuing and redeeming stablecoins. These requirements set financial and operational conditions for companies seeking to enter the activity from outside the banking sector. Eligibility to apply itself covers joint-stock companies invested in by banks or financial holding companies, as well as other institutions the commission may designate. This route combines ownership-based entry rules with capital requirements specific to non-bank issuers.
The draft allows a stablecoin pegged one-to-one to the New Taiwan dollar or to a single foreign currency. The issuer must verify subscribers’ and redeemers’ identities before accepting their transactions. The total value of reserves, calculated at the fair value of each currency category, must also remain at least equal to its total outstanding balance. This complements the law’s framework, which requires full reserve backing and custody at a local financial institution, separate from the issuer’s assets. The law also requires reserves to be placed in trust with a financial institution and audited periodically.
The draft requires the appointment of an accountant to conduct periodic reviews, the establishment of internal control and audit systems, business continuity policies and procedures, and an information security management system. Issuers must also report financial and commercial data to the Financial Supervisory Commission and the central bank. These obligations make ongoing oversight and reporting part of the requirements for the activity, alongside licensing, capital and reserve conditions. The commission’s chairman said in September 2026 that the global debate over virtual assets and stablecoins had moved from whether they should be developed to how to develop them properly. The draft forms part of a broader legal framework regulating these activities in Taiwan.
After the drafts are formally announced, interested parties will have 40 days, starting on the day after the announcement, to submit comments. The commission said it would issue the rules after collecting proposals, alongside the entry into force of the Virtual Asset Services Act. The law does not specify when it will take effect; the commission said Taiwan’s Executive Yuan would set the date. The timing of the final rules is therefore tied to the law’s implementation date, rather than to a fixed schedule stated in the draft. In December 2025, the commission said the first Taiwanese stablecoin could enter the market in the second half of 2026 at the earliest under the legislative timetable at the time, and that issuance in the initial phase would be limited to financial institutions to manage risks.