The New Taipei District Court ordered the blocks on 15 October 2026, a little over six weeks before Taiwan’s local elections on 28 November 2026. The rulings target websites owned by Coinbase Global Inc. and Kalshi Inc. Authorities cited suspected illegal wagering on the outcome of the vote.
Legal basis and enforcement
According to the announcement, the orders are based on Taiwan’s Public Officials Election and Recall Act, which prohibits profit-driven gambling linked to election or recall results. Users began reporting problems reaching the sites around 14 October 2026, a day before the court’s authorisation was confirmed. Visitors were redirected to a notice referring to the court orders.
Web access to Coinbase has been cut. However, reports indicate that the exchange’s mobile app remained accessible to some users.
Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau described the online betting activity as a threat to the electoral process. In addition, authorities also presented the blocks as a measure to prevent possible foreign interference ahead of the vote.
Both companies fell under the same action because of their commercial relationship. Coinbase works with Kalshi to offer prediction markets on election outcomes. These markets reportedly include contracts tied specifically to Taiwanese local races.
An established regulatory stance
This is not Taiwan’s first action against prediction markets. Polymarket has already been blocked under the same election law, and Coinbase and Kalshi now join it.
The legal framework has also tightened. A 2023 amendment to the act raised penalties for violations. Bettors can face up to six months in prison, while operators can face up to five years.
Implications for prediction markets
For Coinbase, the case exposes a tension within its product expansion. The company has been developing prediction markets as part of a broader move beyond crypto trading. That approach works in jurisdictions that classify event contracts as financial products. It meets obstacles where authorities treat the same contracts as gambling.
Taiwanese officials also framed the issue as more than a matter of consumer protection or gambling regulation. Moreover, through the process of linking the blocks to the risk of outside interference, they placed prediction markets within the scope of election security.
Taken together, the Polymarket precedent and the latest rulings indicate that Taiwan is applying its election law consistently rather than making a one-off example.
