從國外法制經驗論我國首次代幣發行及證券型代幣發行之證券法規適用疑義

A Comparative Legal Study of Initial Coin Offerings and Security Token Offerings: Comments on Taiwan's Security Law

本文探討因應數位科技而生的新型募集資金工具之發行與管理，如首次代幣發行ICO（Initial Coin Offering，ICO），及證券代幣發行STO（Security Token Offering，STO）等募資方式及工具所衍生的證券法規應用。我國主管機關於2019年6月公布最新的STO相關規範，即將此類型代幣認定為有價證券，且探用類似美國法投資契約Howey Test四要件做為檢視，惟本文認為此四要件在我國應隨之調整，不宜過度僵化適用，本文藉檢視及統整美國，加拿大，新加坡，日本、澳洲、南韓、中國、秦國、菲律賓及香港等，對ICO發行及代幣的現行規範與監理程度，再以美国聯邦證券交易委員會近期代幣證券認定案例作為主要参考，盼能提供主管機關對代幣個案情況認定的判斷標准，與未來制定代幣發行與交易管理規範參照文末，建議主管機關可考量區塊键技術的普惠金融精神，完善金融體系及善用合適的科技監理，俾使接合新創科技的來臨。

Cryptocurrencies can be categorized as paymment, utility, and asset tokens. Utility and asset tokens can be used to raise funds through initial coin offerings (ICO) and security token offerings (STO), but whether such tokens are deemed securities and regulated under the Securities Act is unsettled. This article discusses the relevant legal issues arising from the use of such new fundraising tools in Taiwan. In July 2019, the Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (''Commission''), pursuant to Article 6 of the Securities and Exchange Act, pronnulgated a legal rule designating securities tokens with characteristics of liquidity and investmnent as securities. The rule is based on the so-called ''Howey Test'', which was used to examine whether a given token shall be deemed an investmnent contract| the Commission concluded that only debt tokens and profit-sharing tokens meet the criteria. However, this method of determining whether a token shall be deemed a security deserves further analysis. Under the legal rule, other types of tokens are not considered securities, but they can be traded in the market as commodities and services. Determining how to regulate these other types of tokens effectively presents a challenge for the competent authority. This article presents comparative research based on a review of the regulations of foreign jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Australia, South Korea, China, Thailand, Philippines, and Hong Kong and proposes suggestions for future policy reform in Taiwan. This article suggests that 'financial inclusion', a concept that is consistent wwith the applications of blockchain technology, be taken into consideration by the competent authority when making policies| moreover, the logic and methods applicable to regulatory technology should be applied in such instances rather than those of traditional supervision in the up coming Fintech era.