Turkey’s Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Simsek, has announced the near completion of a legal framework for crypto assets in the country. Simsek provided insights into the forthcoming cryptocurrency law, highlighting its alignment with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and emphasizing a comprehensive approach.
In a January 10 interview with Anadolu Agency in Turkey, Simsek discussed the regulatory stance, noting the substantial interest in crypto asset platforms and the associated opportunities and risks. He stressed the importance of addressing potential abuses on platforms and excessive price fluctuations, aligning these steps with international practices and efforts to exit the FATF’s gray list.
Simsek emphasized the need for Turkey to tailor its regulatory measures to align with its financial and legal systems while staying informed about global developments. The draft regulations encompass comprehensive definitions for crypto assets, wallets, crypto asset service providers, crypto asset custody services, and crypto asset buying and selling platforms.
Crypto assets are broadly defined 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.”
Simsek highlighted existing regulations by the Central Bank and the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) but emphasized the necessity for further legal measures to regulate platforms and transactions.
Under the proposed regulations, crypto asset trading platforms will be licensed by the Capital Market Board of Turkey (CMB). They will be subject to operational conditions akin to financial institutions, covering founders, managers, organizational obligations, capital requirements, and IT infrastructure.
The CMB will regulate the issuance of capital market instruments as crypto assets and introduce provisions for crowdfunding methods to sell blockchain technology infrastructure-related crypto assets. While the current regulation does not delve into taxes, Simsek mentioned separate studies on the tax issue.
The Turkish Presidential Annual Program for 2024 aims to finalize cryptocurrency regulations by the end of 2024, detailing efforts to establish clear definitions for crypto assets, potentially paving the way for future taxation. The program also seeks to provide legal definitions for crypto asset providers, specifically mentioning cryptocurrency exchanges, without providing specific details on the regulatory framework elements.
As of December 2022, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey had conducted an initial trial of its central bank digital currency, the digital lira, expressing intentions to continue testing into 2024.
