臺灣當地拒絕比特幣自動櫃員機

Taiwan is joining the ranks of governments wary to join in on the craze that is the virtual currency bitcoin.

臺灣政府也加入了慎對比特幣熱潮的行列。

The island's financial regulator said Monday that physical teller machines for the virtual currency 'will not appear' here, after Las Vegas-based RoboCoin, which makes bitcoin ATMs, reportedly said it had chosen Taiwan and Hong Kong as its first spots to expand in Asia.

臺灣金融監管部門週一表示，不會允許設置比特幣自動櫃員機(ATM)。此前有報道稱，拉斯維加斯比特幣ATM製造商RoboCoin已經選擇臺灣和香港作爲進軍亞洲市場的首批落腳點。

'Bitcoin is not a legal tender. Banks should not accept savings in bitcoins and the FSC will not allow the installation of bitcoin ATMs in Taiwan,' Tseng Ming-chung, chairman of Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission, told The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

臺灣金融監督管理委員會(Financial Supervisory Commission)主委曾銘宗周一在接受《華爾街日報》採訪時稱，比特幣不是法定貨幣，銀行不能收付比特幣，金管會也不會批准在臺灣設置比特幣ATM。

RoboCoin couldn't be reached for comment Monday during Asian daytime hours.

記者未能在週一亞洲白天時段聯繫到RoboCoin對此發表評論。

RoboCoin launched its first bitcoin ATM in a Vancouver coffee shop in November, where it racked up 1 million Canadian dollars (US$941,500) in transactions in less than a month. ATM users can either buy or sell bitcoin through the machines.

RoboCoin去年11月份在溫哥華一間咖啡店設置了首個比特幣ATM，不到一個月時間成交額就達100萬加元（合941,500美元）。 用戶可以通過ATM買入或賣出比特幣。

Taiwan is not alone in dodging the newfangled bitcoin frenzy. Governments and banks around the world are worried that the absence of scrutiny over bitcoin--which isn't issued or backed by a central government but is created through a sophisticated computer process--could be a hotbed for money laundering or other illegal activities.

拒絕加入比特幣熱潮者並非少數。全球許多政府和央行擔心，比特幣缺乏監管可能會成爲洗錢或其他非法活動的溫牀――比特幣並非由中央政府發行或提供支持，而是通過一種複雜的電腦程序產生。

China's central bank last month asked some domestic payment processors to stop trading with the country's biggest bitcoin exchange, BTC China. The move sent the virtual currency's value plunging by as much as 38% against the dollar at the time. The People's Bank of China also said financial institutions shouldn't take deposits from bitcoin-related businesses or provide them insurance or custody services, though it said individuals could continue to buy and sell bitcoin.

上個月中國央行要求國內一些支付公司停止爲中國最大的比特幣交易平臺比特幣中國(BTC China)提供支付與結算服務。此舉導致比特幣兌美元價格一度暴跌38%。中國央行還表示，金融機構不得展開與比特幣相關的業務，也不得爲比特幣提供保險或託管業務，不過央行指出，私人可以繼續買賣比特幣。

Hong Kong's finance chief John Tsang warned in December that the bitcoin run couldn't last forever because there was 'no support from the real economy,' but the city's Monetary Authority has reportedly said it won't regulate the bitcoin ATMs.

香港財政司司長曾俊華(John Tsang)在12月份發出警告說，比特幣行情不會永遠持續，因爲沒有實體經濟支持，不過有報道稱，香港金融管理局(Monetary Authority)表示，不會去管制比特幣ATM。

According to , an online bitcoin exchange, the virtual currency is currently trading at $1,049. The currency started 2013 at less than $20 and crossed the $1,000 threshold in November before plunging to $640 after BTC China stopping taking deposits.

據比特幣網絡交易中心，比特幣目前的價格爲1,049美元，而在2013年初還不到20美元，去年11月份價格突破1,000美元大關，在比特幣中國停止接收人民幣儲值業務之後一度暴跌至640美元。

Taiwan's FSC said that usage of bitcoin on the island is 'minimal,' with only a handful of online game providers accepting the currency. Wayi International Digital Entertainment Co., a Taiwanese online game provider, has said it intends to accept bitcoin and may even become an exchange.

臺灣金管會稱，比特幣在臺灣的使用量不大，只有一些網絡遊戲供應商接受比特幣。臺灣網絡遊戲供應商華義國際數位娛樂股份有限公司(Wayi International Digital Entertainment Co.)表示，公司計劃接受比特幣，將來甚至可能成爲一個交易平臺。

'If bitcoins do expand into the local market, we will then consider launching more measures to strengthen our supervision,' Mr. Tseng said.

曾銘宗稱，如果比特幣在臺灣的使用量增加，則考慮推出更多措施加強監管。