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- Turkish cryptocurrency exchanges must report purchases exceeding 10,000 Turkish lira, or $1,200.
- With two crypto exchanges shutting down overnight, the Turkish government is determined to regulate the local crypto industry promptly.
- A specific date for the AML regulations implementation has yet to be revealed.
Strengthening the crypto regulatory stance in Turkey, crypto exchanges have been ordered to report every purchase above 10,000 Turkish lira, or $1,200, to the financial authorities. The recent international-level crypto controversy has brought the Turkish governments on their toes, reported CoinDesk.
Turkey To Implement AML Regulations
Announced Thursday night on CNN Turkey, the Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister, Lütfi Elvan, discussed the new rules implemented under upcoming anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, asserting they are determined to regulate the local crypto industry promptly.
Crypto Controversy Exerts Pressure
Last month, successively, two of the local Turkish cryptocurrency exchanges, Thodex and Vebitcoin, with a daily trade volume of $744 million and $60 million, respectively, ceased operations overnight. It triggered an international man-hunt for Thodex CEO Faruk Fatih Ozer, still on the run with nine others, while Vebitcoin CEO Ilker Bas, with three other employees, was detained. Following this, Şahap Kavacıoğlu, head of the central bank of Turkey, said crypto regulations were coming soon, though a decisive crypto ban wasn’t feasible.
Almost a week after Turkey listed crypto platforms under the AML regulations covered firms on May 1, on Thursday, Elvan suggested they needn’t rush and instead consider and implement the regulations carefully. He added compliance with the regulations would be overseen by their national financial crimes investigation board, MASAK.
Public Demands Clarity
Tansel Kaya, the managing partner at the Mindstone Blockchain Labs, said almost everything crypto-related is “unclear.” Specified yet is just the mechanism, where “anything above 10,000 lira will be actively sent to the agency for monitoring financial crimes.” The government needs to provide clarity, and soon.
Leading Events & Implementation
Back in March, Turkey had zero crypto regulations. With inflation hitting 16.2% and the Turkish Lira down by over 10% against the U.S. dollar, virtual currency, including Bitcoin (BTC) and other altcoins, demands were soaring. But mid-April, the government announced a crypto payment ban, in effect by the month-end.
Inflicting massive loss to the investors, the following shutting down of Thodex on April 21 and Vebitcoin on April 23 put immense pressure on the government to speed up regulations. However, a specific date for the regulation’s amendment has yet to be specified.
One thing’s for sure; Turkey is going to have regulations soon.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
