A group of cryptocurrency companies has joined a Taiwan-based association to develop self-regulatory standards for the country’s digital asset industry.

According to the XREX exchange, 24 crypto firms became the founding members of the Taiwan Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Association on June 13. BitoPro founder and CEO Titan Cheng will chair the association, and XREX chief revenue officer Winston Hsiao will be the vice chair. The group said it was committed to “promoting and facilitating rigorous and fair regulations that help grow the blockchain finance industry globally.”

“[We will] cooperate with the government, the Ministry of Justice and law enforcement agencies to jointly combat fraud and other criminal activities,” said XREX as an association member. “The industry will also contribute technology, industrial knowledge and infrastructure to jointly establish an industrial joint defense platform and design international transfer rules that meet Taiwan’s needs (Travel Rule) standards, networks and alliances, to create currency flow scanning and tracking technology that is consistent with Taiwan’s money laundering and fraud patterns.”

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The formation of the VASP association followed officials with Taiwan’s Justice Ministry proposing that the country amend its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations for virtual asset service providers. Under the proposed amendments, those in noncompliance could face up to two years in prison or fines up to $1.5 million. Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) also announced plans to introduce new digital asset regulations in September.

“The establishment of the association will bring more cooperation and consensus to the industry, promote compliance, standardization and healthy development of the industry, ensure the safety, transparency and stability of the industry, and enhance the protection of consumer rights,” said Hsiho Huang, an FSC director present at the Virtual Asset Service Provider Association announcement on June 13.

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