New Sanctions by Capital Markets Board of Türkiye on Crypto Service Providers

New administrative sanctions by the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye should be carefully analyzed by crypto markets. That development must be carefully traced by crypto service assets providers in Türkiye.

Introduction
There are updated advancements in Turkish blockchain markets. The Capital Markets Board of Türkiye is granted very wide authority for the management of blockchain. In the present article,  new decisions by the Board for sanctions against crypto service providers will be highlighted.

Concerning more discussion about how the FinTech operates in Turkey, take a look at our practice area: FinTech

Developments in Turn for Crypto Assets

In Türkiye, significant developments have been made for digital technologies in Turkey. The Capital Markets Board of Türkiye takes new decisions upon prevention of emerging risks and challenges.

After the establishment of the digital participation banking system, the digital wallets were recognized by the Regulation of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye. In this way, a Digital Wallet Era in Turkey started. Later, the 2024 New Electronic Submission System for Turkish Capital Markets was instituted by the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye. Türkiye

revised the Capital Markets Law Numbered 6362 through the Law numbered 7518, mostly known as Turkish Crypto Law, for the compliance with the Financial Task Force standards and principles designed for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing following its publication in the Official Gazette dated July 2, 2024.

Take a look at our up-to-date article on the 2024 FATF Decision on Turkey

The decision on the 2024 Announcement for the Rejected Crypto Asset Platforms was made by the Board dated 23 August 2024. The Resolution by Turkish Capital Markets dated 19 September 2024 was published particularly in relation to the legal status of NFTs and P2Ps in Turkey.

Minimum threshold of  15.000 TRY for Mandatory Crypto User Identification in Turkey was also instituted as of February 25, 2024.

An Overview of The Turkish Crypto Law

Relevant articles of the Capital Markets Law numbered 6362 revised by the Law numbered 7518 gave comprehensive powers to the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye.

See our article on the 2024 Turkish Crypto Law enters into force

In terms of crypto service providers, it is made mandatory to obtain a permission from the Board for the establishment and operation of crypto service providers. It is also important to underline that the Capital Markets Board is the fundamental authority to grant licensing not only for the establishment but also for operation. Moreover, a wide margin of appreciation and authority was also granted to the Turkish Capital Markets Board for the enforcement of criminal and administrative sanctions.

New Sanctions by Capital Markets Board of Türkiye on Crypto Service Providers

Recently numerous websites were blocked by the Board on the grounds of violation of norms concerned. According to the Board, those responsible were engaging in unauthorized crypto asset service providing activities and/or making leveraged transactions abroad online.  Their websites were blocked by the Board decisions declared in the Bulletins 2024/56, 57, 59, 2025/2 and 3.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, the Capital Markets Board has been granted high-level authorities for the management of the crypto market in Turkey. The Board every day took a new decision to navigate the Turkish FinTech environment. Up to now, it becomes clear that the Board will not allow leveraged transactions abroad and unauthorized crypto service providing activities without licensing.

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