The Turkish government denied intentions to impose a 40% tax on crypto-related gains as was previously reported, members of the ruling party told the local press. They have pointed out that current regulatory efforts target creating a sustainable environment for the blockchain industry, Bitcoin.com reported.
Establishing a regulatory base
Legislators will probably submit a proposal tailored to regulate cryptocurrency trade in Turkey in the weeks to come. Sources from the ruling party, Justice and Development Party (AKP), have emphatically denied accusations of planning to tax cryptocurrency gains at a rate of 40%, Turkish newspaper Hürriyet reported.
Mustafa Elitaş, deputy leader of the ruling party’s parliamentary group, has stated that the new law would regulate Turkey’s crypto system while protecting investors, preventing malicious acts, and countering grievances.
On December 29 last year, Elitaş organized a meeting with representatives of cryptocurrency platforms active in the country in the parliament in the capital city of Turkey. Officials from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), the Treasury and Finance Ministry, the Central Bank of Turkey and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) also took part. Participants expressed support to adopt a regulatory framework that would make further changes in the sector.
Ruling party examines other countries’ crypto regulations
Milliyet, a major Turkish daily, reported that senior AKP members have been reviewing regulations in Japan, the US, and the UK this week. The top priorities of Turkey’s regulations are to achieve safety, transparency, and auditability of crypto exchange platforms. Another key goal is to establish a suitable financial environment to accommodate growth of the blockchain sector.
5 million people in Turkey have accounts with exchanges
With just under 5 million user accounts, Turkey’s crypto assets market is among the five biggest in the world. Over 30 crypto trading platforms are active in the country, which straddles the Europe-Asia border. Binance, the biggest exchange in the country, has daily trading volume of around $320 million.
Anti-fraud authority fines Binance, imposes rules on sector
Last month, MASAK fined Binance’s Turkish arm, BN Teknoloji, the equivalent of $750,000 in Turkish lira. The fine was on account of violations established during liability inspections. In May last year, MASAK ordered digital asset exchanges to carry out KYC verification and report high-volume trading and suspicious transactions.
The authority imposed the rules after Vebitcoin and Thodex, two crypto exchanges in the country, suddenly ceased to operate and inflicted losses on thousands of investors.
