Taiwan sentences BitShine ringleader to 22 years for $39M fraud

A Taiwanese court just handed down one of the harshest sentences in the country’s crypto enforcement history. Shi Qiren, the man behind the BitShine operation, will spend 22 years in prison for orchestrating a sprawling fraud and money laundering scheme that victimized more than 1,500 people.

The Shilin District Court convicted Shi on 485 counts related to aggravated fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors had actually pushed for 25 years, so you could argue he caught a break.

How BitShine actually worked

The operation ran under two names: BitShine and BiXiang, both fronts for a company called Bixiang Technology. Between January 2024 and April 2025, Shi’s outfit operated 45 physical storefronts scattered across Taiwan. The stores recruited individuals to purchase crypto tokens using cash. The operation then used USDT transfers to obscure where the money was going.

The total damage was substantial. The scheme laundered over NT$2.3 billion, roughly $75 million, through its network. Illicit profits hit approximately NT$1.27 billion, or about $41 million.

On top of the 22-year sentence, Shi received an additional 16 months for operating virtual asset services without the required Anti-Money Laundering registration.

What authorities seized

The court ordered forfeiture of NT$43.73 million in crime proceeds. Prior seizures included NT$60.49 million in cash, 647,000 USDT, an unspecified amount of Bitcoin, TRX tokens, luxury vehicles, and more than NT$100 million sitting in bank deposits.

Taiwan’s regulatory reckoning

Bixiang Technology initially passed checks by the Financial Supervisory Commission but subsequently misused its licensed status to conduct unlicensed operations associated with CoinW and Biying Technology. The operation misled customers into purchasing tokens at physical locations, funneling the proceeds offshore using USDT and cold wallets.

Running 45 unlicensed storefronts is about as flagrant a violation as you can find. That’s not someone accidentally failing to file paperwork. It’s a deliberate, scaled operation built on the assumption that regulators either wouldn’t notice or wouldn’t act.