Turkey Clarifies Its Crypto Regulation
Not only domestic but international cryptocurrency exchanges are in the rush to obtain the regulated status from the Turkish government, Binance, Bitfinex, and OKX while the list is not exhaustive. The prompt regulatory approval of Turkish government has been the driving force behind the dramatic surge of exchanges hosting in the said jurisdiction. This signifies the first-ever situation in the country when the attitude towards digital assets has started to show promise in Turkey.
It was shared by the Capital Markets Board of Turkey, the country’s financial regulatory authority, that a total of 47 cryptocurrency exchanges had submitted applications for registration. This action wave demonstrates how stringent the need of the company is to comply with Turkey’s newly established and more stringent laws. Nevertheless, the regulator underlined that the mere fact of being included in the list is not a guarantee to start operations immediately.
New Crypto Legislation Drives Compliance Push
The recent rise in applications is, in fact, a straight consequence of the newly considered law in Turkey. Controlled by, among others, ruling party head Abdullah Güler, the bill increases its punitive measures to the point that the amount of fines reaches $182,600 and the periods of imprisonment are set at three and five years respectively.
On the other hand, in the recent bill itself, the provision of punishment for non-compliance with the rules is stated. The owners of Bitcoin exchanges in the country are in the line of fire and will have to apply for licenses from the Tokenization and Infrastructure Operators Union to get into the market. If they don’t do that, they would even be thrown in prison. Also, the bill requisites crypto providers to mandatorily employ tight measures to track asset seizures as well as mandatorily providing for the transfer of funds by rightful users and that these are tracked by authorities.
Turkey’s Position in the Global Crypto Market
Turkey climbed to the top of the list of Middle East countries involved in the cryptomoney market, strengthening its role as a major participant in the world market. In 2022, Turkey took the fourth place on the list of countries with the highest crypto money transaction volume with 170 billion received according to the report by Chainalysis, which is a renowned blockchain forensic firm.
Recognition like these is partly why Turkey did not include any US platforms like Gemini and Coinbase in its list of registered exchanges. However, well-known players like Whitebit and local exchanges such as BTCTurk appear as a result, thus originating a unique mix of global and local companies in the region, all of which are trying to either begin or grow their Turkish operations.
Conclusion
Turkey, which has tightened its regulations in the cryptocurrency industry, and thus witnessed giant exchanges like Binance, Bitfinex, or OKX crowding the registration window, the rulebook is the means of being a responsible player in such a fast-paced market. The new legal framework primarily aimed at protecting the investors and the development of regulated and secure cryptocurrency trading practices in Turkey, in tandem determining the country’s place in the global financial market.
