[Depth Analysis] PTT Hot Discussion: Is the Taiwan crypto world quieter than four years ago? The Truth About the Financial Supervisory Commission, Trading Obstacles, and Community Migration

(Source: PTT)

A PTT post titled "Is there fewer people in the Taiwan crypto world than four years ago?" has sparked heated discussions, revealing deep changes in Taiwan's cryptocurrency ecosystem. From the strict regulations of the Financial Supervisory Commission to the risk control barriers of trading platforms, and the migration of social platforms, the Taiwan crypto world is undergoing structural transformations. However, data shows that young investors are still flowing in in large numbers; they have simply chosen different ways to participate and communicate.

PTT crypto world board popularity sharply decreased: multiple factors behind the phenomenon

On September 10, a netizen posted on PTT stating: "Are there fewer people in Taiwan's crypto world now than four years ago, or is it just that the number of people in this board has decreased, with only a little over twenty left? It's really incredible; there should have been over a hundred at this time four years ago." This question sparked a large number of responses, revealing the multiple changes in the ecosystem of Taiwan's crypto world.

· Financial Regulation: The Formation of the 'Crypto Desert'

(Source: PTT)

Many netizens attribute the decline in popularity of PTT in the crypto world to Taiwan's strict financial regulations. One netizen bluntly stated, "Taiwan is quickly becoming a crypto desert, with difficulties in even making deposits," while another remarked, "I said from the beginning that the Financial Supervisory Commission's regulation of the crypto world has stabilized it, and it's stabilizing to death."

These comments reflect the substantial impact of Taiwan's financial regulation on the crypto market. In recent years, the Financial Supervisory Commission has implemented strict regulatory measures on cryptocurrency trading, including requiring exchanges to conduct rigorous identity verification, restricting certain trading functions, and conducting risk control on suspicious transactions.

A user "sola01078272" reminds everyone: "Have you all forgotten that a few months ago the exchange still had to cooperate with the Financial Supervisory Commission's crazy risk control?" This regulatory environment has caused many Taiwanese investors to encounter difficulties in the process of depositing and withdrawing funds, and even face the risk of having their bank accounts locked.

· Trading Barriers: Pain Points of Deposits and Withdrawals

(Source: PTT)

The difficulty of depositing and withdrawing funds has been repeatedly mentioned as a major obstacle to the development of the crypto world in Taiwan. "milk830122" shared their experience: "When you encounter risk control at a Taiwanese exchange, you won't want to play with coins anymore. They block deposits but want to block withdrawals, and it's disgusting how they hold your money. Not everyone can wire transfer."

More worrisome is that even choosing wire transfer, a relatively safe method, cannot completely avoid risk control issues. "DarkerDuck" added: "No, that's not the case. Wire transfers can also be blocked; the financial North Korea is definitely not just a name."

These trading barriers not only increase the operational costs for investors but also reduce the market's liquidity and activity, further weakening the development momentum of Taiwan's crypto world.

· Community Migration: PTT is no longer the main battlefield in the crypto world

(Source: PTT)

In addition to regulatory and trading barriers, changes in community platforms are also an important reason for the decline in popularity of PTT in the crypto world. Several netizens pointed out that discussions in the crypto world have already migrated from PTT to other platforms.

"visualcookie" pointed out: "There are more groups now, both official and unofficial, there's no need to go on PTT, all the exchanges have official chat groups now." "medycyna" also stated: "Everyone has moved to Telegram or the exchange's LINE, right?"

"boogieman" further explains: "Because PTT is already an old platform, when you go to YT to watch those discussing cryptocurrency, they don't ask you to join the DC group or LINE group." These comments reflect that social media and instant messaging platforms have replaced PTT as the main venues for discussions in the crypto world.

"TJayHong" observed a qualitative change in the discussion content: "Four years ago, people discussed technology here, but four years later, it has only become a back-and-forth argument between bulls and bears. Those who want to discuss technical analysis have gone to LINE groups." This change indicates that not only has the number of people in the PTT crypto world board decreased, but the quality of discussions has also declined.

"rupcj8" points out the limitations of the PTT platform itself: "Why come to a place like PTT that's troublesome for casual chatting? The posts on the board are too outdated compared to the current meta, so there's no new information, and it just leads to conflicts, or people holding onto dead asset bones. It can only be popular if there's something ghostly about it."

Investment Preference Shift: From Cryptocurrency to Traditional Finance

The discussion also revealed a shift in the preferences of Taiwanese investors, with many turning to traditional financial markets or crypto ETFs.

1. The Attractiveness of Taiwan Stocks

(Source: PTT)

"milk830122" means: "Taiwan's stock market is manageable, there's no need to learn from Koreans to trade coins desperately, and the hassle of depositing and withdrawing money is also a problem; stocks are much simpler." "AccLaborGo" also pointed out: "The annualized return of the Taiwan stock market is 15%, and normal people would invest in the stock market; before making money from trading coins, one should be careful not to get their bank accounts locked."

These comments reflect the good performance of the Taiwan stock market in recent years, attracting some funds that might have originally been invested in the crypto market. "xluds24805" bluntly stated: "The Taiwan stock market has been too good these past few years, who would want to play with the higher risk and lower return of cryptocurrencies."

2. Alternative Options for ETFs

(Source: PTT)

"DarkerDuck" mentioned: "But actually many people have directly bought ETFs, right? They discuss it directly in the stock section. At least when buying U.S. stock ETFs, the Financial Supervisory Commission can't really intervene." "s70337033" also stated: "I directly bought IBIT."

These comments indicate that with the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the United States, many Taiwanese investors are choosing to participate in crypto world investments through the traditional securities market, thereby avoiding regulatory risks while enjoying the price appreciation of crypto assets.

Data Reversal: The Population in Taiwan's crypto world is Actually Growing

Although discussions on PTT present the impression of a shrinking crypto world in Taiwan, the actual data shows a different trend. According to statistics from Taiwan's largest cryptocurrency exchange, BitoPro, from Q4 2024 to Q2 2025, the age group of new accounts opened is dominated by those aged 18 to 29, accounting for 33%; followed by those aged 30 to 39, making up 29%; and those aged 40 to 49 account for 18%, meaning that those under 40 make up over 60%.

· The Rise of Young Investors

The CEO of BitoEX, Zheng Guangtai, analyzed that at this stage, Taiwan only allows spot trading, but many young investors are not satisfied with this. Since the proportion of cryptocurrency users in Taiwan is less than 5%, about 70% of Taiwanese users choose to trade derivative financial products on overseas exchanges.

This trend is consistent with the observation of "minazukimaya" on PTT: "There aren't fewer people in the crypto world, it's just that there are fewer people here..."

· Innovative Participation Method: Points Exchange for Cryptocurrency

It is worth noting that the "point redemption cryptocurrency" service launched by Bitto in collaboration with FamilyMart has sparked a frenzy among the younger demographic. The age group primarily using FamilyMart membership points to exchange for coins is between 18 and 39 years old, with the most popular coins including BTC, USDT, ETH, and DOGE, leading to a trend among young people of "mining" points for free.

This innovative participation method lowers the entry barrier for cryptocurrency, attracting more young people into the market, but these new investors may not choose PTT as their communication platform.

Conclusion: Structural Transformation of Taiwan's crypto world

Based on a comprehensive analysis of PTT discussions and market data, we can conclude that the crypto world in Taiwan is not experiencing a decrease in numbers, but rather undergoing a structural transformation.

Platform migration: Discussion about moving from PTT to instant messaging platforms such as Telegram, LINE, Discord.

Diverse participation methods: expanding from direct trading of cryptocurrencies to various ways such as purchasing ETFs and point redemption.

User Demographics: A new generation of investors is flooding into the market, but they are choosing different communication platforms.

Regulatory Environment Challenges: The strict regulations and trading barriers imposed by the Financial Supervisory Commission have indeed affected market development, but have not prevented new users from entering.

As predicted by "shter": "Once the financial channels start reporting on crypto reserve concept stocks, the crowd will probably return." The development of the crypto world in Taiwan may still be influenced by both global market trends and local regulatory environments, but the continuous influx of young investors has injected new vitality into the market.

The viewpoint of "y4103" may represent the expectations of many investors: "Interest rate cuts and quantitative easing haven't even started yet, and just with the influx of capital from Wall Street, prices have already risen this much. Once the large-scale monetary easing begins, won't it soar to the skies?"