Legislator Ge Ru-jun proposes "VASP tax incentives"! Cho Jung-tai promises to submit a Bitcoin ETF report within three months

KMT Legislator Ge Ju-jun questioned Premier Cho Jung-tai, FSC Chairperson Peng Jin-long, and Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun at the Legislative Yuan today (28th), focusing on five major issues: the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Act, VASP tax incentives, Bitcoin spot ETFs, RWA tokenization, and national digital asset reserves. (Background: Jan3 CEO Samson Mow advocated at the Legislative Yuan that Taiwan's Central Bank should purchase Bitcoin reserves equivalent to 1% of GDP to support the launch of ETFs.) (Background: Four financial holding companies in Taiwan are reportedly interested in acquiring VASP exchanges, with MaiCoin and BitoGroup on the list; Fubon and Union Bank are already positioning themselves.) Legislator Ge Ju-jun focused his questioning at the Legislative Yuan today (28th) on the five topics: the virtual asset special law, VASP tax incentives, Bitcoin spot ETFs, RWA tokenization, and national digital asset reserves. After being questioned, Premier Cho Jung-tai, FSC Chairperson Peng Jin-long, and Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun promised to propose a direction for VASP tax incentives within one month and submit a report on Bitcoin spot ETFs within three months. During the questioning, Ge Ju-jun pointed out that Thailand, Portugal, Germany, El Salvador, and the UAE are all using commercial tax breaks to attract talent and capital in the crypto industry, and asked how Taiwan plans to respond since it has not proposed similar startup incentives. Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun's initial response was that "existing incentives should be applied first, and new ones require a tax expenditure assessment." However, after being pressed, Premier Cho Jung-tai directly promised that the Executive Yuan would lead the effort, with the Ministry of Finance and the FSC working together to propose a direction within one month. Next is the Bitcoin spot ETF, which has recently garnered domestic attention. Currently, Taiwan only allows professional investors to purchase offshore BTC ETFs through sub-brokerage, which involves high thresholds and many restrictions. Ge Ju-jun pointed out that the US, Canada, and Hong Kong have already approved such issuances, and if Taiwan does not keep up, it will only push capital away. Peng Jin-long responded that they have recently received relevant analysis reports and will expand the scope of openness if "conditions are met." Regarding the issuance of Bitcoin spot ETFs within Taiwan, a report will be submitted within three months. Ge Ju-jun also expressed concern about the international trend of stock tokenization and RWA, pointing out that in the future, stocks such as Apple, NVIDIA, and even TSMC ADRs could be traded 24/7 on the blockchain in tokenized form, affecting the capital flow and pricing power of Taiwan's capital market. Peng Jin-long responded, "If RWA is classified as a security, it will be handled in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Act. The FSC has held multiple meetings with the TDCC and relevant units and is currently studying future trading platforms and the first wave of products that can be listed," but noted that infrastructure must be completed, and it cannot be launched immediately in the short term. The other two parts concern the draft of the "Virtual Asset Service Provider Act," which has been sent to the Legislative Yuan. Premier Cho Jung-tai agreed to "deploy early" the dedicated units and manpower for the FSC. Peng Jin-long also promised to submit a research report on the VASP industry education fund and financial safety net within one month. The most vivid part was regarding national digital asset reserves. Ge Ju-jun handed a research report on Taiwan's Bitcoin strategic reserves to Premier Cho Jung-tai, emphasizing that digital assets are no longer just investment products, but a part of financial resilience and national security. He requested the Executive Yuan to instruct the Central Bank and relevant ministries to study the feasibility of using stablecoins or tokenized bonds as national reserves, starting from a very small percentage of foreign exchange reserves. In response, Premier Cho Jung-tai stated, "Current data shows that no country has yet listed Bitcoin as a foreign exchange reserve." Ge Ju-jun immediately refuted this, noting that the Central Bank's report already mentioned that the Czech Republic has begun relevant discussions and has become the first central bank to publicly purchase cryptocurrency. He emphasized that Taiwan's approach can be more prudent; it does not necessarily have to include Bitcoin immediately, but can first study ways with relatively controllable risks, such as stablecoins and tokenized bonds, to gradually enter the world of virtual currencies and digital assets. Ge Ju-jun handed a research report on Bitcoin strategic reserves to Premier Cho Jung-tai, suggesting that the Executive Yuan instruct the Central Bank to evaluate whether it is possible to start with a very small percentage of foreign exchange reserves and try using stablecoins or tokenized bonds as national reserves to "gradually enter the world of virtual currencies and digital assets."