Four Taiwanese financial holding companies are reportedly interested in acquiring the VASP exchange, with MaiCoin and CoinTouch also on the list; Fubon and Union Bank have already secured their positions.

Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission is pushing for the swift implementation of the Virtual Asset Service Provider Act, and financial holding companies have already begun preparations. According to the Economic Daily News, citing sources familiar with the matter, three bank-type financial holding companies and one life insurance-type financial holding company have been contacting various Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) since the beginning of this year to inquire about their willingness to sell their trading platforms, intending to quickly fill the gaps in on-chain financial technology and talent through mergers and acquisitions.

Industry estimates suggest that VASP vendors are asking for prices ranging from hundreds of millions to tens of billions of yuan.

Fubon and Federal have taken the lead in securing their positions.

We know that Fubon Group has established Fubon Digital (TWEX Taiwan Virtual Asset Exchange) through Taiwan Mobile (3045), and it will officially open in May 2025.

In its financial report at the end of 2025, Commonwealth Bank disclosed that on August 25 of the same year, its board of directors resolved to invest US$27.817 million in Modern Wealth Holdings (the overseas holding parent company of MaiCoin Group), acquiring 5.357 million shares, representing a 9.67% stake, and expected that all shares held by Commonwealth Venture Capital would be transferred to Commonwealth Bank.

Federal Bank is also one of the financial institutions currently cooperating with MaiCoin in the pilot program for virtual asset custody.

Even before the special law has been passed, financial holding companies have already made preparations.

Although the draft Virtual Asset Services Act (comprising 56 articles, including provisions on stablecoins) was only released by the Executive Yuan in April of this year, and derivative products and other businesses have not yet been opened, some financial holding companies have still chosen to act ahead of schedule.

Industry insiders point out that waiting for the special law to be formally passed before starting the evaluation process could be too late. VASP operators, on the other hand, are mostly open to the idea and generally expect that the financial holding companies' mergers and acquisitions will accelerate significantly after the special law is passed.

MaiCoin's initial price is estimated at over 10 billion, while emerging players are asking for hundreds of millions to billions.

When discussing the selling price, in addition to blockchain and trading platform technology, the number of users and future growth potential are also key factors in pricing.

The two largest platforms in Taiwan in terms of users and capital are MaiCoin Group and CoinTrust Group, both of which have been operating in Taiwan for over a decade. If we extrapolate the shareholding ratio based on the amount invested by the Federal Reserve Bank last year, industry estimates suggest that MaiCoin Group's overall valuation exceeds NT$10 billion; otherwise, the group will be striving for an IPO.

As for BitoGroup, although it does not yet have a clear financial institution shareholding ratio like MaiCoin, based on its number of registered users and the distribution advantages of its BitoPro exchange, BitoEX wallet, and convenience stores throughout Taiwan, the estimated acquisition price should be comparable.

In addition, the Economic Daily News analyzed that emerging companies such as Heya Digital Technology, Tuohuang Digital Technology, CrossChain Technology, and Fusheng Digital each have their own positioning.

Heya and Tuohuang differ in technology and number of users, with the estimated sale price ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of yuan; CrossChain Technology focuses on corporate entities and signed an agreement with Heku Venture Capital in January this year; XREX Group also focuses on corporate services, with its shareholders including China Development Capital under Kai Fund (2883) and Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, leaving relatively limited room for financial holding companies to further dominate mergers and acquisitions.

Regardless of whether a merger or acquisition ultimately occurs, with the advancement of the Virtual Asset Services Act and the Stablecoin Sub-Act, it is believed that cooperation between financial institutions and VASP operators will only continue to deepen.