By Bitcoin News | Created at 2026-10-16 18:36:40 | Updated at 2026-10-16 19:35:45
59 minutes ago
Taiwan has blocked the websites of Coinbase and Kalshi under a court order sought by police investigating election betting, six weeks before the island’s Nov. 28 local elections. Kalshi’s own member agreement already bars Taiwanese users, yet it lists markets on the races.
Key Takeaways
- A New Taipei court order cites Taiwan’s election law, under which operators face up to five years in prison.
- Kalshi lists Taiwan as a restricted jurisdiction but runs a Taipei mayor market with about 198,000 contracts.
A Criminal Court Order Six Weeks Before the Vote
Coinbase’s website has been unreachable in Taiwan since Oct. 14, when users began seeing a block page that cites a criminal ruling by the New Taipei District Court under the Public Officials Election and Recall Act, according to tests by Taiwanese crypto outlet BlockTempo. The court authorized Taiwan’s telecoms regulator and internet registry to block both Coinbase and the prediction market Kalshi, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 15.
Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, which sought the order, told Bloomberg it requested the restrictions to protect election integrity and prevent “overseas interference,” without giving further details. Authorities have separately warned that money from mainland China could flow into the island ahead of the vote, though they have not accused Coinbase or Kalshi of handling funds from China.
A Coinbase spokesperson told Bloomberg the company is aware of access issues for some users in Taiwan and is investigating. Under a 2023 amendment to the law, people who bet on elections face up to six months in prison and gambling operators up to five years.
Meanwhile, a Kalshi spokesperson told Bloomberg the company doesn’t allow trading in Taiwan, and its member agreement lists Taiwan among the “Restricted Jurisdictions” whose residents may not use the platform. Even so, the exchange lists markets on the Nov. 28 vote.
On its Taipei mayoral market, about 198,000 contracts had traded by Friday, with Chiang Wan-an at 58 cents and Shen Bo-yang at 39 cents. Kalshi also lists the New Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral races, whether the Kuomintang will win the most mayoral and magistrate races, and the 2028 presidential election. BlockTempo noted that Coinbase’s Kalshi-powered predictions product shows the presidential market, though it called any link to the block speculation.
Taiwan first blocked Polymarket’s domain in December 2023 and blocked it again in May; that block page cited a Miaoli District Court ruling under the same law. Polymarket still lists about two dozen markets on Taiwan’s local races, and its Taipei mayoral market has seen about 1.14 million shares traded.
Prosecutors have also gone after individual Polymarket bettors, tracing them through onchain flows, BlockTempo reported on Oct. 2. In Kaohsiung, a court sentenced a man to 30 days detention after he bet 742.96 USDC on which party would win the most seats, netting about NT$102, and his USDC was confiscated. In Tainan, a bettor on the Taipei mayoral race received a deferred prosecution on condition of paying NT$100,000 to the state treasury.
Taiwan’s crackdown follows Indonesia’s block of Polymarket over bets on its president and South Korea’s pursuit of users, where police traced Polymarket bettors through the blockchain.
