Istanbul – The Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance announced the entry of a new organizational package into force to control the encrypted currency market, in a move described as the most comprehensive since the start of the official dealings with the digital assets in the country.
These measures, which were published in the Official Gazette and began to work at the end of last month, aim to enhance control over digital transactions and combat money laundering and illegal bets, while maintaining legitimate activity in this growing sector.
The new package .. details and goals
The Minister of Treasury and Finance said Muhammad Shimakk The new package comes within the framework of the government’s efforts to protect the national financial system from suspicious financial flows.
He explained that these procedures include imposing waiting periods that extend from 48 to 72 hours on some of the withdrawals, in addition to strict controls related to disclosing the source of the funds and reasons for transfers.
The minister added, “We seek to prevent washing of criminal returns resulting from illegal gambling and fraud, without closing the door for legitimate uses and financial innovation,” the minister added.
He continued that these steps come within an integrated plan aimed at harmonizing Turkish legislation with international standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, at a time when the digital assets market grows globally, and the regulatory challenges associated with it increases.
Government motives and backgrounds
Shimakk’s comments come in the context of wider transformations in the Turkish digital market, where they are taken Ankara A series of successive measures to keep pace with the accelerated boom in the encrypted currency market.
This sector has recorded significant growth in Türkiye as a result of internal economic factors, the most prominent of which is the decline in the value of the lira and the high rates InflationWhich prompted a wide segment of citizens to resort to digital assets as a safe haven or a speculative tool.
According to the company “Chen Analeys”, which specializes in blockchain analyzes, the volume of encrypted transactions in Türkiye More than 170 billion dollars during the year 2023, leading European countries in terms of trading volume. This intense activity of the Turkish market has made a major focus point for international regulatory authorities.
However, this rapid growth is accompanied by increasing organizational and security challenges, including fraud, the disappearance of trading platforms, and illegal financial flows, amid a relative legislative vacuum that reduced the state’s ability to intervene effectively.
In an attempt to fill this void, Ankara has launched a series of gradient reforms during the past months. Last December, trading platforms were imposed to verify the identity of users if the value of the transaction exceeds 15,000 Turkish liras (about 377 dollars).
The Turkish Capital Markets Authority also announced, in March, new criteria for licensing encryption platforms, which include strict security and financial control, in addition to mandatory financial conditions, which were launched with 150 million pounds (3.77 million dollars) for commercial platforms, and 500 million pounds (12.56 million dollars) for preservatives of assets.
Details of the new procedures
The new organizational package included a number of technical and operational requirements, most notably:
- Obliging encrypted currency platforms to request detailed information from users about the source of the money and the reasons for the transfer, as a prerequisite for completing any treatment.
- Imposing a text description with each conversion, with the aim of distinguishing the types of transactions and facilitating the audits later.
- Imposing a time suspension period of 48 hours on some of the withdrawals, and it may extend to 72 hours at the first draw from a new account that does not contain complete data. This aims to give the supervisory authorities an opportunity to monitor suspicious moves before completing the transaction.
- Strong ceilings for stable currency transfers (such as USDT), at 3 thousand dollars per day and 50 thousand dollars per month. However, the platforms that adhere to the “travel base” (an international base provides for the exchange of accurate information on the two parties in each digital financial transaction), can benefit from the limits of higher transfer after the approval of the regulatory authorities.
- The Travel Rule application is compulsory on all operating platforms, ensuring the exchange of accurate data between the sender and the recipient, in line with the criteria approved by the International Financial Working Group.
- Obliging digital assets companies to submit periodic reports that include the details of transactions, such as the type of encrypted, its, its price, and the date of its implementation.
The Treasury stressed that the lack of adherence to these rules will expose the platforms that violate severe penalties, including financial fines or suspension and withdrawing licenses permanently.
Fears and reactions
In this context, economic analyst Hakki Airul John believes that imposing waiting periods and financial ceilings on digital currency transfers, in a fast -paced market such as the Turkish market, may push some users towards unlicensed platforms or the digital black market, to overcome the restrictions imposed within the official channels.
In his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, Erol John confirms that the Turkish government can reduce these risks by providing flexible but controlled alternatives, such as granting special facilities to committed users, or supporting local platforms that show high compliance and clear transparency.
“It is necessary to explain these measures clearly to public opinion, as they are preventive steps to protect the national economy, not sanctions targeting the market.”
The impact of procedures on the competitive scene
For his part, economic researcher Irfan Chilic believes that the ability of Turkish encryption platforms to adapt to the new rules will vary clearly between large and emerging companies.
In his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, he indicates that major companies such as “BTC Tok” and “Paribo” have an advanced technical infrastructure, and an expert legal and financial difference, which makes them in a good position to comply with the new requirements.
As for small and medium platforms, they will face great financial and technical challenges, from the cost of compliance, to the difficulty of modernizing internal systems, and ending with the weak analytical ability to monitor immediate suspicious transactions.
Celic adds that this disparity may reinforce the market map in the coming months, with the possibility of withdrawing some platforms, or their resort to integration or selling their shares to larger companies capable of meeting the requirements of new regulations with more flexibility and efficiency.