The massive demand for Bitcoin in Asia is what prompted U.S.-based company Robocoin to bring its Bitcoin ATMs to Taiwan and Hong Kong. The problem is, government attitudes toward Bitcoin differ widely throughout Asia. This is best evidenced by Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission refusal to allow the installation of Bitcoin ATMs in the country.

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will not allow the installation of Bitcoin ATMs in the country because it believes Bitcoins are not a currency and should therefore not be accepted by individuals or banks as payment, said FSC chairman Tseng Ming-chung. Tseng Ming-chung’s statement was reported yesterday by the Central News Agency (link via Google Translate), Taiwan’s state-run news service.