Crypto in Turkey

Turkey’s crypto regulatory framework remains fragmented, with the Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) issuing a landmark ban on April 16, 2021, prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method under Regulation No. 2021/1. The Capital Markets Board (CMB) oversees token offerings and exchange activities, but no comprehensive crypto law has passed parliament as of Q1 2025. A draft bill introduced in May 2024—the “Law on the Regulation of Crypto Asset Service Providers”—seeks to license exchanges, mandate custody segregation, and impose AML/KYC rules aligned with FATF standards. The CBRT’s ban on direct crypto payments remains in effect, though trading and holding are legal. The CMB has fined unregistered exchanges, including a $750,000 penalty against Binance in December 2023 for unauthorized operations. Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) enforces anti-money laundering rules under Law No. 5549, requiring exchanges to report transactions over 10,000 TRY since May 2021. The legal status is best described as restricted: trading is permitted, but payment use is banned, and licensing is pending legislative approval.

Turkey has no specific crypto tax law as of 2025, creating ambiguity for investors and traders. The Revenue Administration (GİB) treats crypto gains under general income tax rules: individuals trading as a business face corporate tax at 25% (2025 rate), while occasional traders may owe income tax at progressive rates from 15% to 40% on gains exceeding 8,500 TRY annually. Capital gains from long-term holdings (over one year) are exempt under Income Tax Law Article 80, but short-term trades are taxable as “other income.” A 2023 GİB circular clarified that crypto-to-crypto trades are taxable events, though enforcement is minimal. VAT does not apply to crypto transactions per 2021 CBRT guidance. The government proposed a 0.1% transaction tax on crypto trades in October 2024, targeting 3.7 billion TRY in annual revenue, but it stalled in parliament. Reporting is voluntary, with no mandatory disclosure forms; the CMB requires exchanges to report user data to MASAK, but tax authorities lack direct access. Investors face audit risk if bank deposits exceed 50,000 TRY without explanation.

Turkey has 5.2 million crypto users as of December 2024, per Chainalysis, ranking 12th globally in adoption. Daily trading volumes on local exchanges like BtcTurk, Paribu, and Binance TR average $1.8 billion in 2024, up 40% year-over-year, driven by the lira’s 55% depreciation against the USD. Institutional activity is nascent: Akbank partnered with Paribu in March 2024 to offer crypto custody services, while Garanti BBVA launched a crypto trading pilot for 10,000 clients in June 2024. Retail use cases center on savings: 62% of users hold stablecoins (USDT, USDC) to hedge against inflation, which hit 64.8% in December 2024. Peer-to-peer trading on Binance P2P accounts for 18% of volume, as users bypass bank restrictions. The Digital Lira pilot, launched by the CBRT in November 2022, has processed 1.2 million transactions in a closed test with 15 banks, but no public rollout is scheduled. Turkey’s crypto ATM count fell to 45 in 2024 from 120 in 2022 due to regulatory uncertainty, but mobile app downloads for exchanges rose 35% in 2024.