Taiwan’s legislature on July 1 passed the Virtual Asset Service Act, creating a formal licensing regime for virtual asset service providers and stablecoin issuers. Under the law, firms must obtain approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission before operating. Platforms that have already completed anti-money laundering registration will have 12 months to apply for a license and another 21 months to secure final approval. Operating without approval after that can bring up to seven years in prison and fines of up to NT$100 million, while fraud or market manipulation can carry prison terms of three to 10 years and fines of up to NT$200 million. The article says Taiwan’s framework closely mirrors the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, especially on stablecoin reserves, bankruptcy remoteness and the ban on interest payments. But it argues Taiwan goes further by writing criminal liability directly into law. The legislation also allows traditional financial institutions to apply to run VASP businesses, setting up a more direct competitive challenge for existing crypto firms. A separate resolution asks the regulator to submit, within one year, a plan on opening crypto derivatives to local firms, leaving a narrow path for future expansion if companies can survive the approval period.

At least 29 overseas cryptocurrency derivatives exchange apps, in addition to OKX and Bybit, can no longer be newly installed from Google Play in South Korea, according to a report cited by PANews from Digital Asset. The affected apps include MEXC, KuCoin, BingX, Gemini, BTCC, Phemex, and Bitmex. In Play Store search results, these apps are shown as unavailable or marked with notices such as “not available in your region of residence.” Of the 29 apps, 14 had previously been identified by South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit, or FIU, as unreported virtual asset service providers and referred to law enforcement agencies. Another 15 had not been referred, but were still blocked by Google Play. The report said Google has, since January this year, suspended regional support for apps operated by virtual asset service providers that are not registered with the FIU under its own policies. The Play Store restrictions do not affect access to those exchanges through web browsers or installation via Apple’s App Store.

South Korean authorities are drafting enforcement rules for the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, considering whether to allow fintech companies to participate in a new virtual asset transfer licensing regime set to take effect in December, potentially breaking the current exchange-dominated market.

Taiwan's first Virtual Asset Service Law, comprising 56 articles, cleared the Legislative Yuan's Finance Committee on June 3 with cross-party consensus. The bill covers VASP licensing, stablecoin regulation, and penalties, aiming for third reading this session and full implementation by early 2027.

The EU’s 20th sanctions package bans dealings with Russian and Belarusian crypto service providers and DeFi platforms, while adding the digital ruble, RUBx, and TengriCoin to its blacklist.

Brazil's central bank introduces new regulations requiring crypto asset service providers to maintain minimum capital buffers, establish risk management structures, and submit regular reports from 2027. Firms are classified as Type 3 entities, overseen similarly to securities dealers. All VASPs must transition to Segment 4 by June 2028, and Segment 5 institutions are barred from offering virtual asset services.

Bybit’s app is no longer searchable or downloadable on South Korea’s Google Play. The move lines up with tighter scrutiny of unregistered foreign VASPs, though no authority has confirmed that FIU enforcement directly caused the removal.

KYC (Know Your Customer) is mandatory for most crypto exchanges. This guide explains why exchanges require KYC, what information they collect, how it affects wallets and transactions, and the privacy tradeoffs involved.