Taiwan FSC Rejects Union Bank Investment in MaiCoin

MaiCoin is a Taiwanese virtual-asset trading platform that is planning an IPO through a group holding structure. Union Bank of Taiwan had sought to invest in the MaiCoin group, a move that would have supported fundraising and signaled deeper cooperation between a traditional bank and a cryptocurrency company. However, bank investments must comply with Taiwan’s Banking Act and the Financial Supervisory Commission’s criteria for businesses deemed financially related.

The FSC rejected Union Bank’s application to invest directly in MaiCoin’s offshore holding company because the company had no actual operations and did not qualify as a financially related business. Reports did not disclose the proposed investment amount, the application date or the rejection date. The investment is expected to proceed instead through a privately affiliated company controlled by one of Union Bank’s major shareholders, while the two companies’ existing cooperation is not expected to be affected.