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Taiwan has blocked domestic access to the websites of Coinbase and Kalshi after a New Taipei City court authorized restrictions requested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). Authorities say the concern is suspected election gambling and possible interference with electoral integrity—not an allegation that either company handled Chinese money or has been found guilty of a crime.
What Taiwan blocked and when
The court order allows Taiwan’s communications regulator and internet registry to restrict access to Coinbase and Kalshi inside Taiwan. The CIB requested the order under the Public Officials Election and Recall Act. Some Coinbase users reported losing access on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
The action concerns access to the websites in Taiwan. The available report does not say that Coinbase’s global exchange, every cryptocurrency transaction, or all Kalshi activity has been declared illegal. It also does not say that either company was convicted or that the court determined the companies themselves operated an unlawful betting scheme.
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Why authorities sought the restrictions
The CIB said the restrictions were intended to protect election integrity and prevent “overseas interference.” Taiwan’s law prohibits operating gambling for profit based on an election or recall result. The agency’s stated concern is therefore the suspected use of online platforms for election betting, rather than a finding that the platforms transferred funds from China.
In a July 9, 2026 statement, the CIB wrote: “選舉賭盤不僅涉及賭博犯罪，更可能透過操縱賠率、散布假訊息等方式影響選情與社會秩序，嚴重危害民主制度與選舉公平性。” A faithful English rendering is: “Election betting involves gambling crime and may also influence election sentiment and social order through manipulation of odds and dissemination of false information, seriously endangering democratic institutions and electoral fairness.”
What Taiwan’s election-gambling law says
A 2023 amendment to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act increased the potential criminal exposure for election betting. The figures reported in connection with the current action are maximum penalties, not sentences imposed on Coinbase, Kalshi, or any particular user.
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| Conduct | Maximum penalty reported | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Betting on an election or recall outcome | Up to six months in prison | Bettors |
| Operating election gambling for profit | Up to five years in prison | Gambling operators |
The legal distinction matters. A person placing a wager and a service allegedly operating gambling for profit are treated as different categories under the reported framework. The website blocks are an access-control measure while authorities investigate suspected conduct; they are not, by themselves, a judgment that either named company committed the offense.
Why the November 28 election raises the stakes
Taiwan’s November 28, 2026 local elections will choose mayors, city councilors, and village chiefs. They are President Lai Ching-te’s first nationwide electoral test since he took office in 2024 and could offer an early indication of the political landscape before the 2028 presidential election.
That timing helps explain the urgency of the restrictions. Authorities say election markets can affect public sentiment through manipulated odds or false information, even if a wager does not directly change a ballot. Their concern is not limited to conventional bookmakers: decentralized-finance systems and cryptocurrency can let participants fund, settle, and move wagers outside traditional payment channels.
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Coinbase and Kalshi do different things
The two companies are not the same type of service. Coinbase is primarily a cryptocurrency exchange, while Kalshi is an event-contract and prediction-market venue. The current report places them in the same access-restriction action because authorities suspect election-betting activity connected with online platforms, not because the businesses offer identical products.
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| Platform | Primary product | Relevance to Taiwan’s action | Company response reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase | Cryptocurrency exchange | Authorities restricted domestic website access amid concerns that cryptocurrency could be used to place or settle suspected election bets. | No immediate response to requests for comment was reported. |
| Kalshi | Event-contract or prediction-market venue | Authorities included the site in the restriction order while investigating suspected election-related betting. | No immediate response to requests for comment was reported. |
The evidence available does not establish that Kalshi itself created a market on a Taiwanese election, nor that Coinbase operated an election book. It establishes that Taiwan treated access to both websites as relevant to an investigation into suspected election gambling.
What earlier investigations revealed
A decentralized-market case reported July 9
The CIB said a foreign suspect allegedly opened dozens of decentralized election-betting markets covering Taiwan’s 2026 nine-in-one local elections. Investigators said the suspect used decentralized finance to move stakes and cryptocurrency to place and settle wagers. Prosecutors later issued deferred prosecution under election-law and gambling provisions. Deferred prosecution is a prosecutorial disposition; it is not a finding that Coinbase or Kalshi was responsible for that conduct.
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A Polymarket case described May 8
In a separate case, the Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office alleged that a suspect used NordVPN to disguise a Japanese IP address, bought 9,245.01 USDC, and wagered 742.9629 USDC on a market asking which party would win the most seats in Taiwan’s 2026 local elections. Police seized 746.79 USDC. Those amounts describe the investigators’ account of that case and do not show that Coinbase or Kalshi handled the funds.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Coinbase illegal in Taiwan now?
The reported order blocks domestic website access; it does not establish a blanket declaration that Coinbase, cryptocurrency ownership, or every Coinbase transaction is illegal in Taiwan. The immediate legal risk described by authorities concerns election gambling and operating such gambling for profit.
Anyone in Taiwan should not assume that using a foreign website avoids local law. The reported penalties apply to conduct covered by Taiwan’s election and gambling rules, regardless of whether a wager is funded with cryptocurrency or placed through a decentralized system. The court action also shows that authorities may seek technical access restrictions while an investigation is under way.
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- Effortless Transactions - Simplify your crypto management with the Arculus Cold Storage Wallet and Arculus App, to seamlessly send, swap, or receive assets with a simple tap to your mobile device.
- CC EAL6+ Secure Element Technology – Safeguard your keys on the Arculus Card through robust, certified encryption, protecting against unauthorized access.
- Supports 95% of the Cryptocurrency Market Cap, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), XRP (XRP), and Cardano (ADA), Litecoin (LTC), Polkadot (DOT), and other popular coins.
- Hassle-Free - The Arculus Cold Storage Wallet communicates with your phone using secure tap-to-transact NFC technology. No cords, no connections and no internet required for next-gen levels of security.
What is—and is not—established about China
Authorities have described the restrictions as a response to suspected election betting, concerns about manipulated odds, false information, and possible overseas interference. They have not alleged that Coinbase or Kalshi handled money from China. The available report also does not say that either company was found to have violated the election law.
Both companies had not immediately responded to requests for comment at the time of the report. That leaves the companies’ positions on the order unresolved, while the legal basis publicly described by Taiwan remains focused on suspected election gambling.
Quick Recap
What readers should take away
- A New Taipei court authorized Taiwan’s communications regulator and internet registry to block domestic access to Coinbase and Kalshi after a CIB request.
- The stated legal issue is suspected election gambling under Taiwan’s Public Officials Election and Recall Act.
- The 2023 amendment allows up to six months in prison for bettors and up to five years for gambling operators.
- The restrictions come before the November 28, 2026 local elections, a significant political test for President Lai’s government.
- Earlier investigations documented decentralized election markets using cryptocurrency, including USDC.
- No allegation in the current report says Coinbase or Kalshi handled Chinese funds, and the order is not a finding of guilt.
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