On December 17, the three major associations in Taiwan's securities and futures industry issued a warning, stating that 'Crypto Hu Shi,' which frequently conducts live broadcasts on Facebook to solicit students and provides individual token analysis opinions, is a 'virtual currency platform operator that has not completed the declaration of anti-money laundering compliance.' Although 'Crypto Hu Shi' later emphasized in a post that 'we are legitimate tax-paying tutoring providers' and 'not a coin dealer,' the key question is: Is it legal for cryptocurrency investment experts to 'teach people to trade coins' and 'charge tuition fees'?
The Financial Supervisory Commission supervises the 'Futures Association,' 'Investment Trust and Consulting Association,' and 'Securities Dealers Association' to jointly establish the 'Warning Area for Non-Financial Supervisory Commission Approved Securities and Futures Operators and Products.'
After investigation, 'Yang Ji Co., Ltd. (Crypto Hu Shi)' is not registered in accordance with the 'Regulations Governing Anti-Money Laundering Registration for Businesses or Persons Providing Virtual Currency Services' and has not completed the declaration of compliance with anti-money laundering laws to the Financial Supervisory Commission. Therefore, it is prohibited from conducting any business activities that solicit virtual currency platform operations.
The Financial Supervisory Commission advises the public to refuse services for virtual currency trading and trading business provided by 'Yang Ji Co., Ltd. (Crypto Hu Shi)' and to avoid remitting money to accounts provided by that company.
According to an earlier interview by (Unicorn Media), the founder of 'Crypto Hu Shi,' Hu Shi, is a tutoring teacher. After starting to study cryptocurrency investment, he began to make stable profits in 2020 and later collaborated with one of the students, 'A Bo,' to open 'the first tutoring class in the cryptocurrency circle.' Besides offering general 'spot trading classes,' 'grid trading classes,' and 'small coin groups,' they also opened 'one-on-one tutoring classes' through one of the founders, A Bo, providing cryptocurrency investment advice.
In response to the announcement issued by the three major associations, 'Crypto Hu Shi' stated today (18th) on Facebook that the answer received after calling the Financial Supervisory Commission was:
Professional associations are not government organizations; as long as someone reports to this association, it may be announced by this association, and it has no actual legal effect.
'Crypto Hu Shi' emphasized at the end of the article that 'we are legitimate tax-paying tutoring providers,' 'not a virtual currency platform operator nor a coin dealer,' and believe they have been maliciously reported and slandered.
However, even if 'Crypto Hu Shi' claims that it is not a virtual currency platform operator, it remains doubtful whether it involves legal violations.
According to relevant case law, if it involves 'private investment courses charging tuition fees,' it may have violated relevant legal regulations. For instance, in the past, there was a 'non-licensed financial course' that provided investment advice for a fee, which was deemed by the court to violate the 'Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act.'
(See report from Liberty Times: Attention! Private stock investment courses carry criminal liability, one person sentenced to four months; report from Xin Media: Financial advisor without a license opened a 'day trading course,' charged as a 'trading doctor,' and was sentenced to five months, with tuition income of 4 million confiscated.)
Furthermore, under Taiwan's legal framework, if specific cryptocurrencies constitute 'securities' as defined in Article 6 of the Securities and Exchange Act, then related activities must comply with the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Act.
According to past cases, if one provides individual analysis opinions and recommendations on the value of stocks or other securities to students without permission from the competent authority, and directly or indirectly receives compensation from clients or third parties, it constitutes 'illegal operation of securities investment advisory business.'
According to further inquiries from (BlockKe), the business registration information for 'Yang Ji Co., Ltd.' shows that the registered business items do not include 'H304011 Securities Investment Advisory Business,' indicating that the company does not have legal qualifications to operate such a business.
"Opening classes to teach coin trading! Is 'Crypto Hu Shi' crossing the legal red line?" This article was first published on (BlockKe).
