Legal Business

Sponsored briefing: Regulators grapple with the Turkish crypto market: From piecemeal approach to comprehensive regulation

The recent volatility of the Turkish Lira (TL) has increased the already high interest among Turkish investors in cryptocurrencies, with TL trading volumes in major coins showing exponential growth during the latter half of 2021. So far the regulators have been playing catch-up, with the first regulations in connection with crypto assets entering into force in the first half of 2021, just as the collapse of a large Turkish cryptocurrency exchange left hundreds of thousands of customers with no remedy and increased the appetite for more comprehensive regulation. Government officials have indicated they are in active talks with stakeholders to put together a draft law that will regulate cryptocurrency exchange platforms under licensing requirements and introduce protections for customers trading in cryptocurrencies (the ‘Draft Crypto Market Law’).

In this context, it would be advisable to understand the current regulatory landscape and the new regulatory framework that is currently in the works.