The Turkish government is in the final stages of completing technical studies for its crypto asset regulation. This regulation will introduce licensing and operating standards for trading platforms. The announcement was made by Turkey’s Finance Minister, Mehmet Simsek.
In a recent interview with the state-owned news agency Anadolu, Simsek confirmed that the regulatory framework for crypto assets is nearing completion. The technical aspects of its implementation are currently being assessed. The aim of this regulatory framework is to reduce the risk of crypto trading and help Turkey get off the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list”.
The FATF’s grey list includes countries that have not taken satisfactory action to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Turkey was added to this list in 2021. The Turkish government is preparing stricter crypto legislation to convince the FATF to remove it from its “grey list”. Simsek stated, “We are taking steps to reduce the risks of parties trading with crypto assets in our country, similar to international practices. This is also within the scope of FATF to get out of the grey list.”
Simsek further explained that the main goal of the crypto asset regulation is to increase trust in this area and eliminate potential risks. He stated that Turkey is fully compliant with all but one of the FATF’s 40 standards. The only remaining issue within the scope of technical compliance is the work related to crypto assets.
The new regulatory framework in Turkey requires crypto platforms to obtain licenses from Turkey’s Capital Market Board (CMB). The framework also provides legal definitions of “crypto assets”, “crypto wallets”, “crypto asset service providers”, “crypto asset custody service”, and “crypto asset buying and selling platforms”. Simsek gave an example of how the regulations define “crypto assets” as intangible assets that can be created and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or a similar technology, distributed over digital networks, and capable of expressing value or rights.
According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Turkey ranks fourth globally in raw crypto transaction volumes. Over the last year, Turkey recorded an estimated $170 billion in transaction volumes after the US, India and the UK. Many Turkish citizens have turned to digital currencies due to years of double-digit inflation rates, which was recorded at around 65% in December.
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| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Middle East |
| Countries | 🇹🇷 🇺🇸 🇮🇳 🇬🇧 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Mehmet Simsek |
| Companies | Anadolu, Chainalysis, Turkey’s Capital Market Board, Reuters, Financial Action Task Force |
| Currencies | None |
| Securities | None |
