Turkey Sets New Standards to Safeguard Cryptocurrency Transactions

This year, Turkey has enacted legislation establishing specific standards for cryptocurrency exchanges, prompting institutions to take action. The Capital Markets Board (SPK) has outlined comprehensive rules and prohibitions within its jurisdiction concerning cryptocurrency exchanges. Following these new regulations, exchanges servicing Turkish citizens must comply with these rules.

SPK’s Cryptocurrency Rules

The Capital Markets Board (SPK) is the equivalent of the SEC in the United States for Turkey. Many regulations regarding cryptocurrency exchanges are implemented by this public institution. Today, we can say that a significant step has been taken. The new rules and prohibitions can be summarized as follows.

• Customer cryptocurrency and cash assets must be kept separate from platform assets. It is stipulated that customer cash held in banks should be monitored in a separate account designated for platform clients, apart from the platform’s own cash assets.
• Accounts opened on behalf of customers will be explicitly defined as belonging to the respective platform clients and cannot be used for unintended purposes.
• Payments to customers can only be made through banks and authorized intermediaries. Cash cannot be received or given directly to customers.
• All orders from customers must be received through the platform’s registered websites, mobile applications, or authorized personnel. Customer orders cannot be taken through social media platforms (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.). Proper and secure record-keeping of orders is required.
• As of November 8, 2024, customers’ order logs, phone order recordings, and request recordings must be preserved.
• NFTs can be opened to users with a warning message indicating that assets traded in this market are not subject to the listing principles of the Capital Markets Law and are not under the supervision of the SPK.
• Transactions made in a P2P marketplace on behalf of someone else will be considered unauthorized cryptocurrency service activities. Exchanges must terminate these activities by November 8.
• Promotional campaigns that promise specific returns or encourage investments in one or more cryptocurrencies cannot be organized. Such campaigns must end within 15 days.
• Cryptocurrency exchanges must integrate with the Central Registry Agency (MKK) system.
• Platforms may only sell as much cryptocurrency as they have in their wallets for customer transactions. The responsibility of ensuring that sufficient assets exist for transactions between customers lies with the platform.
• Platforms cannot utilize customer assets or engage in leveraged transactions, nor can they lend these assets to customers.