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(Kitco News) - Taiwan Mobile Co., the second-largest telecommunications company in Taiwan, is reportedly in talks with local crypto platforms to explore the possibility of collaborating to offer crypto trading to its users, which includes a potential investment in one of the businesses.
According to a report from Bloomberg, several sources familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous have indicated that the government-licensed wireless service provider is in early-stage talks with several crypto firms, including Taipei-based XREX Inc., about forming strategic partnerships in the digital asset space.
At this point, the discussions are still in the early stages, and a deal may not materialize, the sources said. When asked for a comment on the matter, Taiwan Mobile said that it’s “open to any potential opportunities,” but didn’t elaborate further.
Wayne Huang, co-founder of XREX – a platform that describes itself as a blockchain-enabled financial institution – declined to comment on whether his firm is in discussion with Taiwan Mobile, but said that he expects larger institutions to enter the Web3 sector as it matures and regulatory clarity emerges.
While Huan shied away from speaking about Taiwan Mobile directly, he did say that XREX is looking forward to forming synergistic partnerships with telecom operators to help drive blockchain technology adoption in the future once the regulatory landscape becomes clearer.
“Synergies are high because such institutions own a sizable, already-KYCed user base, while XREX offers domain expertise in blockchain and cybersecurity,” he said.
According to Marvin Lo, a senior industry analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, Taiwan Mobile may be “exploring the possibility of entering the fintech business, like what the Japanese telcos have been doing.”
Taiwan has been deepening its exploration of blockchain technology and Web3 over the past year, with Taiwanese officials announcing the launch of its new Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) office in August amid escalating tensions between China and the island country located at the western edge of the Pacific Ocean.
The new ministry is in charge of policies related to information, telecommunications, communications, information security and the internet when it launches, with information security coming in as the most pressing concern currently.
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In March, Huang Tian-mu, the chair of Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), announced that the FSC had been selected as the primary regulator of cryptocurrencies for the island nation and would focus on ensuring that all crypto trading platforms keep the crypto assets they own separate from those owned by their clients.
The FSC will also supervise all exchange product listings along with other customer protection measures. While it has been tasked with payments and transactions, other industry-related assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), will be handled by the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
Taiwanese lawmakers are also currently working on developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and are attempting to have them developed and approved by the end of September.
