Taiwanese police trace Polymarket election bet through crypto exchange KYC

Authorities in Taiwan have arrested a citizen for betting on the outcome of local elections on the prediction market platform Polymarket, sparking a debate within the local crypto community. The individual allegedly placed a five USDC (170 New Taiwan dollars) bet on the results of the elections scheduled for this coming November. According to a Taiwanese X user, authorities identified the bettor despite the transaction occurring on the blockchain. The user explained that police extracted the wallet address that interacted with Polymarket's smart contract via a blockchain explorer like Polygonscan. They then traced the funds back to a local cryptocurrency exchange and used the platform's Know Your Customer (KYC) data to identify and detain the suspect. While gambling on election results is illegal under Taiwanese law, the incident has raised concerns in the community about the limits of on-chain anonymity when centralized exchanges are involved.