ChainCatcher news reports that Taiwan's "Legislative Yuan" yesterday passed the amendments to the Money Laundering Prevention Act in the third reading, officially bringing businesses or individuals providing virtual asset services and third-party payment services under regulatory control. In the future, these service providers must complete money laundering prevention and service capacity registration or login, otherwise they will face a maximum of 2 years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 5 million New Taiwan Dollars.This amendment also revised the penalties for general money laundering offenses. The third reading stipulates that anyone involved in the acts listed in Article 2 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act will be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 3 years and not more than 10 years, and fined up to 100 million New Taiwan Dollars. If the value of the laundered property or benefits does not reach 100 million, the offender will face imprisonment for not less than 6 months and not more than 5 years, and a fine of up to 50 million New Taiwan Dollars. Attempted offenses are also punishable.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official blog, the cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX will launch BitMEX Hong Kong for users in Hong Kong as a transitional service while applying for a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license in Hong Kong.BitMEX stated that starting from May 29, 2023, users in Hong Kong will no longer be able to access the BitMEX website or API, and all account balances will be transferred to BitMEX Hong Kong accounts. Users will need to access these services through the new BitMEX Hong Kong mobile application.Additionally, starting from May 29, 2023, the existing BitMEX trading platform will no longer accept any new users from Hong Kong, and users in Hong Kong will only be able to open accounts through the dedicated BitMEX Hong Kong mobile application. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Finextra, Coinbase has been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland to operate as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), which means Coinbase can offer products and services to individuals and institutions across Europe and internationally from Ireland.It is reported that Coinbase's operations in Ireland will be led by the newly appointed director Cormac Dinan. (Source link)