Taiwan Court Slaps BitShine Founder With 22-Year Sentence

The criminal enterprise operated under the guise of a legitimate business previously registered with Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission. Investigators revealed that Shih collaborated with the Thento Union, a major organized crime group, to convert stolen cash into Tether’s USDT before funneling the funds overseas. Between January 2024 and April 2025, the operation reportedly laundered more than NT$2.3 billion. To bypass security, Shih recruited unsuspecting compliance staff and coached syndicate members on how to pass mandatory know-your-customer verification procedures.

This conviction arrives as Taiwan enforces a stricter regulatory regime for digital assets. The Legislative Yuan recently replaced a basic anti-money laundering registration system with a comprehensive licensing framework. Under the new Virtual Asset Service Act, crypto firms must undergo rigorous oversight, including asset segregation, cybersecurity audits, and central bank approval for stablecoin issuers. The law now mandates criminal penalties of up to seven years for unlicensed operations, signaling a sharp shift toward aggressive enforcement in the local crypto market.