Preparing for Taiwan's 2026 nine-in-one elections? The Control Yuan plans to ban cryptocurrencies and tipping as political donations.

In response to the 2026 Nine-in-One Elections, the Control Yuan is considering amendments to prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies and online “tipping” as political donations, taking into account factors such as difficulties in verifying donors, price volatility, and other factors. The draft is currently under review by the Executive Yuan.

The 2026 Nine-in-One Elections are approaching in Taiwan; proposal would ban cryptocurrencies and online tipping

With Taiwan’s year-end 2026 Nine-in-One Elections approaching, Zhao Yongqing, convener of the Control Yuan’s Integrity Committee, and Chen Meiyan, director of the Property Declaration Office, held a press conference today (4/21), revealing plans to amend laws to prohibit cryptocurrencies and tipping online from being used as political donations.

According to the Central News Agency, Chen Meiyan said that after multiple reviews by the Executive Yuan, and considering that verifying donors is difficult, the revised draft would propose banning the use of cryptocurrencies and online tipping methods to donate as political contributions.

Regarding the portion on cryptocurrencies, Chen Meiyan explained that because prices are highly volatile, they are not suitable for paying expenses; and because cryptocurrencies are decentralized, they are also more difficult to verify donors. Therefore, the draft leans toward prohibition.

The prohibition on tipping on platforms such as YouTube is also due to the difficulty in verifying donors, and because tipping involves revenue-sharing, making the amounts hard to define. If a YouTuber or a livestreamer runs for office, it is also difficult to distinguish how the funds will be used.

Supervisors point out concerns with the political donation system

Zhao Yongqing also pointed out concerns about the political donation system during the press conference. He observed that some recipients have incomes higher than their expenditures; if this continues, it is worth considering whether the government needs to provide campaign expense subsidies.

In addition, some media outlets or online influencers create political donation rankings, comparing the amounts that companies donate to election candidates. This could lead large companies to become more cautious or shift to underground donations, and foreign forces might also carry out “settling accounts after the fact” against companies.

Zhao Yongqing called on candidates to comply with regulations. Any setting up of dedicated accounts without authorization will be referred for investigation, and candidates must also pay attention to whether they violate limits or are involved in regulations related to donations of foreign funds.

There are precedents for foreign funds infiltration; lawmaker candidate previously received bribes in Tether

Cryptocurrency involvement in elections is not without precedent. The Public Television News Network previously reported that during Taiwan’s 2024 election period, independent legislative candidate Ma Zhiwei was suspected of accepting more than NT$1 million in Chinese Tether support, and the court ruled to detain her and restrict her from leaving under the Anti-Infiltration Act.

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Control Yuan today revealed that, in 2022, the results of political donation audits for local public office personnel elections resulted in a total of 129 cases being penalized, with penalty amounts reaching NT$25,017,115. Of these, there were 40 cases of violations involving donations of foreign funds, with penalty amounts of NT$6,469,515; 48 cases involved donations exceeding the limits, with penalty amounts of NT$8,635,000. Compared with 82 cases in 2018, the number of penalized cases has clearly increased.

The Executive Yuan continues to deliberate on the draft; urged to make good use of the declaration system to avoid getting in trouble with the law

However, Chen Meiyan also emphasized that the draft banning cryptocurrencies and online tipping as political donations is still under deliberation; it will only be finalized after approval by the Executive Yuan’s Executive Yuan meeting.

The Control Yuan’s press release also reminded that for prospective candidates such as 2026 directly elected city mayors, county and city mayors, and councilors, they may accept donations after setting up dedicated accounts with permission starting from April 25. The Control Yuan urges candidates to make extensive use of the online political donation declaration system to thoroughly verify the source of the funds, so as to avoid punishment for accepting illegal political donations.

Further reading:
CTi News anchor detained! Mirror Weekly: Lin Chenyou’s account shows abnormal fund flows, and Tether even appeared?

Selling Taiwan for 8,000 Tether! An officer photographs secret documents for “good-sounding” Chinese people