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BackPeople used Polymarket to bet on the 2026 county and mayor election. The Nantou District Prosecutor’s Office seized the bail
People used Polymarket to bet on the 2026 county and mayor election. The Nantou District Prosecutor’s Office seized the bail
Politics
自由时报1 hour agoPolitics2 min readChinaView original

People used Polymarket to bet on the 2026 county and mayor election. The Nantou District Prosecutor’s Office seized the bail

Nantou prosecutors caught people betting on overseas elections through the virtual currency USDC on Polymarket, and ordered them to post a bail of NT$30,000 for violating the election and recall law.

Nantou District Prosecutor's Officepolymarketelection betting

Quick Look

  • The Nantou District Prosecutor's Office directed the police to discover that a person surnamed Bai used the overseas decentralized prediction platform Polymarket to bet US$800 with the stable currency USDC to participate in the 2026 Taiwan county mayor election.
  • After questioning, the prosecutor ordered him to post a bail of 30,000 yuan in accordance with the election violation law.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The Nantou District Prosecutor’s Office directed the police to discover people using the decentralized prediction platform Polymarket to participate in Taiwan election betting.

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The Nantou District Prosecutor's Office directed the Criminal Police Brigade of the Hsinchu County Police Station. Today, they discovered that Nantou County residents had placed bets on the "County Mayor Betting Market" from the overseas decentralized prediction platform "Polymarket" using the virtual currency USDC equivalent to the US dollar. They skipped Nantou County and bet on the fiercely contested county and mayor elections, with a total bet of US$800. After interrogation, the prosecutor ordered him to post a bail of NT$30,000 on suspicion of engaging in election gambling via the Internet in violation of the election and recall law.

The Nantou District Prosecutor's Office pointed out that its prosecutor Wu Huiwen commanded the Criminal Police Brigade of the Hsinchu County Police Department. Today, with a search ticket issued by the court, they went to the residence of a person named Bai in the county to search, confiscated mobile phones, computers and other tools, and summoned the person named Bai to report to the case.

Bai Man connected to the overseas decentralized prediction platform "Polymarket" through the Internet. He opened a betting market on the platform with the subject of "2026 Taiwan Local Elections: Winners of County and City Heads in Each Region" and placed bets on whether several county and mayor candidates would win.

Nantou prosecutors stated that this overseas election betting market is different from the traditional model in which odds are set by bookmakers. It uses blockchain technology and a trading mechanism similar to an order book to automatically form a betting relationship based on the betting situation, and the odds fluctuate in real time. Taiwanese gamblers such as Mr. Bai used an electronic wallet bound to a bank account to place bets in stablecoins (USDC) equivalent to the U.S. dollar. He bet a total of stablecoins (USDC) equivalent to 800 U.S. dollars.

Nantou prosecutors emphasized that the election has entered a period of fierce competition starting this month. This overseas platform has launched an election betting market, or there is a traditional domestic underground gambling market, using the election betting market to manipulate the election and endangering the fairness of the election. The prosecutors will definitely investigate and deal with it seriously.

Open Questions

  • Are there other Taiwanese people participating in the election betting on this platform?
  • Will the prosecutors and police expand their investigation of financial flows in the future?

Related Topics

Nantou District Prosecutor's Office
PeopleWu HuiwenPeople surnamed Bai
OrganizationsHsinchu County Police Criminal Police BrigadePolymarket
Placesnantou countyHsinchu CountyTaiwan
Topicspolymarketelection bettingvirtual currencyElection and dismissal methodnantou county
This article was originally published by 自由时报.

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