Taiwan’s industry-specific legislation is expected to pass this year! Rumor has it that four financial holding companies intend to acquire an exchange; MaiCoin and HOYA BIT are drawing attention

Taiwan’s crypto-specific legislation is expected to go into effect this year. Economic Daily reports that the competition for mergers and acquisitions of VASPs (especially local exchanges) by Taiwan financial holding companies has started. Big players such as Fubon and Federal are positioning themselves through equity stakes or building their own platforms, symbolizing the accelerating convergence between traditional finance and the crypto industry.

Regulatory clarity is driving financial giants to pivot—M&A competition for VASPs is officially underway

With the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) planning to formally roll out the “Virtual Asset Services Act” in 2026, Taiwan’s financial sector is witnessing an unprecedented wave of transformation. The act’s accelerated formation provides a clear compliance pathway for traditional financial institutions to enter the cryptocurrency market. Judging from current market dynamics, financial holding groups have shifted from merely partnering for agency settlement and payment services to seeking M&A strategies with greater control.

• Fubon Group has shown exceptional strategic foresight by establishing Fu Sheng Digital (TWEX Taiwan’s Virtual Asset Exchange) through its subsidiary Taiwan Mobile (3045). The platform officially launched in May 2025. This year, Mastercard and Fu Sheng Digital signed a memorandum of cooperation to comprehensively advance on-chain transfers and cryptocurrency payment applications, making it the strongest financial holding force in Taiwan’s布局 to date. This model—combining a telecom leader with financial resources—demonstrates traditional enterprises’ strong desire for a digital-asset footprint.
• Federal Bank (2838) also disclosed its investment plans in its 2025 year-end financial report. In August, its board approved investing US$27.817 million to obtain approximately 9.67% equity in Modern Wealth Holding Company (the parent company of the MaiCoin Group). Federal Bank also expects to transfer all shares held by Federal Venture Capital to the bank entity itself, strengthening its direct participation in virtual-asset business.

For financial holding groups, virtual assets are an emerging option in asset allocation. Against the backdrop of the Executive Yuan actively pushing and approving the draft legislation, issuing stablecoins without authorization would face severe penalties. This move effectively removes instability from the market, turning compliant exchanges into high-quality targets in the eyes of financial institutions. M&A has become the best path for financial holding groups to quickly fill gaps in on-chain financial technology.

• Related news: 2026 latest》Virtual Asset Services Act draft quick guide: Full breakdown of stablecoins, licenses, and penalties

Valuation amounts range from several billions to over ten billions—financial holding groups and accounting firms carry out deep evaluations

According to Economic Daily’s exclusive report, three bank-type financial holding companies and one life-insurance-type financial holding company have shown strong interest, and starting from early 2026 they will proactively inquire with various virtual asset service providers (VASPs) about their willingness to sell. The core objective of these financial giants is to focus on companies that have stable trading-platform technology and a large number of active users.

To ensure accuracy in this cross-industry M&A, financial holding companies have already commissioned the “Big Four” accounting firms to conduct in-depth valuations and compliance risk assessments on specific targets. Financial institutions are choosing to enter at this time mainly because the legislation has not yet fully cleared, and the target valuations still have room for negotiation. If they wait until the regulations are fully implemented and derivative product services are opened up, the valuations of high-quality targets will inevitably rise significantly, and entering then could mean missing the opportunity.

Based on analyses from industry insiders, the current M&A market pricing system is showing polarization. For example, taking MaiCoin Group—the largest local player in Taiwan—as a reference, if you estimate based on the Federal Bank’s investment amount and ownership ratio, the M&A floor price is roughly around NT$10 billion. If the valuation cannot reach this level, providers are highly likely to go all in on an IPO (initial public offering).

For up-and-coming players with unique technical entry points or specific customer segments, the selling floor price varies depending on technical maturity, number of users, and growth prospects, ranging from several hundred million to several tens of billions. VASP operators generally take an open attitude toward this, believing that combining with financial holding companies can effectively close the gap between on-chain financial technology and traditional financial institutions’ teams. Especially in the process of promoting stablecoin sub-legislation, the financial strength of financial institutions will become key support for exchanges to move toward financial inclusion.

Up-and-coming players show strong potential—HOYA BIT becomes a key on-chain puzzle piece

In this wave of M&A activity, the performance of emerging exchanges such as HOYA BIT (He Ya Digital Technology) has drawn strong market attention. Compared with traditional platforms that have been operating for more than ten years, HOYA BIT demonstrates a very high degree of technical flexibility and market adaptability. The platform has long focused on providing a user-friendly trading experience. This customer-centered design philosophy and its commitment to digital transformation closely align with bank-type financial holding companies.

Industry analysts believe that HOYA BIT’s technical architecture and steadily growing user data make it an ideal target for mid-to-large financial holding companies to fill out their virtual-asset holdings. For financial holding companies that are watching from the sidelines, acquiring companies with high growth momentum and transparent operations can achieve transformation goals at a more efficient cost.

In addition to HOYA BIT, companies such as Pioneer Digital Technology and Cross-Chain Technology have also been deepening their focus in their respective niche industries. Cross-Chain Technology focuses on serving institutional clients and, in January of this year, reached an investment agreement with Core Value Venture Capital (He Ker Venture). XREX Group, leveraging its advantages in institutional services and cross-border payments, attracted Zhonghua Development Capital under Kaiyuan Fund (2883) as well as Tether—the world’s largest stablecoin issuer—to take an equity stake. A shared characteristic among these emerging players is that their interaction with financial institutions has long gone beyond mere capital flows; it has moved into the deep waters of technology integration and business synergy.

BitoGroup trading activity remains steady—when the legislation is implemented, it will accelerate the convergence of finance and crypto

The relatively low mention of BitoGroup’s M&A market activity reflects differences in the level of information disclosure. The reason MaiCoin Group’s estimated figure of NT$10 billion exists is that Federal Bank, as a listed company, must disclose investment details in its financial reports—providing the market with a precise reference point.

As one of Taiwan’s two major players alongside MaiCoin, BitoGroup has cultivated its presence in Taiwan for more than ten years, and its user base and funding scale continue to hold a leading position. The lack of publicly available valuation data only means that its current equity structure is relatively stable, or that it is in a more confidential negotiation stage; its status as a flagship indicator leader has not changed. When financial holding groups evaluate acquisition targets, BitoGroup’s technical strength and market share remain key weight indicators that cannot be ignored.

Taiwan’s virtual asset market is standing at a critical moment of transformation. As stablecoin legislation and accounting guidance are gradually rolled out, companies recognizing stablecoins as assets will be as readily available to deploy as deposits at any time. This will greatly stimulate demand from the corporate side for virtual-asset trading.

Whether it’s three bank-type financial holding companies or life-insurance-type financial holding companies, their ultimate goal is to build an ecosystem of “on-chain integrated finance.” Even if some acquisition negotiations ultimately fail to close, cooperation between financial institutions and VASP operators will enter an entirely new phase. This round of acquisition inquiries initiated by financial holding groups symbolizes that Taiwan’s crypto industry has officially moved past a stage of fighting alone, and is accelerating into a new milestone of deep integration with traditional financial systems.