Binance Applies for AML Compliance in Taiwan
- Binance recently expanded into Japan.
- Binance has previously helped local enforcement agents combat cybercrimes using digital assets.
- Taiwan is currently developing broad policies to govern its crypto market.
Crypto trading platform Binance is taking significant measures to comply with legal requirements as it submits an application for registration under Taiwan’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Law.
Binance’s decision to apply for registration under Taiwan’s Money Laundering Control Act and the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) represents an essential step in its quest to excel in the shifting regulatory environment.
Binance reportedly operates in Taiwan via a local company called Binance International Limited Taiwan Branch (Seychelles). The local company was registered in May 2023. Despite applying for approval, Binance isn’t a stranger in Taiwan. The crypto exchange has already partnered with local law enforcement to combat crypto crimes. In June, Binance announced a partnership with Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to train more than 200 law enforcement officials in Taiwan on how to combat crimes using digital assets.
At the time, Damien Ho, head of global partnerships at Binance, noted that “as a growing number of people in Taiwan grow interested in cryptocurrency, it is important that the crypto ecosystem feels safe and comfortable for users.”
Binance’s expansion to Taiwan comes as the exchange is under scrutiny from regulators in the US and EU. The crypto trading platform is the subject of multiple lawsuits in the United States, and due to regulatory issues, it withdrew from several European nations.
Taiwan braces up for crypto guidelines
Although Taiwan’s cryptocurrency market is mostly unregulated, the FSC established AML regulations in July 2021 and required all cryptocurrency exchanges doing business or providing services in the nation to abide by them.
The FSC was appointed as Taiwan’s main crypto regulator in March and is currently developing a comprehensive set of regulations on trading and payments involving cryptocurrencies for VASPs. Reports state that the FSC could publish its cryptocurrency guidelines as early as September.
Kevin Cheng, a director of the Taiwan Fintech Association, noted that the agency plans to regulate crypto assets as it does traditional financial institutions. Cheng explained that the “FSC plans to require VASPs to keep their own crypto assets separate from the clients’ crypto assets and to have accounting firms audit such assets every year.”
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