The regulation eagerly awaited by cryptocurrency investors in Turkey is currently being debated in the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). Representatives of political parties are discussing the regulation, which has been talked about for months and has now taken its final form. Representatives from the Saadet and İYİ parties have given speeches. So, what are the key points in these speeches?
Turkey’s Cryptocurrency Regulation
Cryptocurrency investors are actually waiting for a step related to taxes, but the current draft being discussed also contains important details for investor security. The regulation, which allows the use of foreign exchanges on the condition that they open a representative office in Turkey, also imposes personal responsibility on exchange managers for potential losses such as hacks.
Additionally, we have mentioned topics such as the 2% additional cost concerning exchanges. Following the cryptocurrency law, it is expected that the issue of taxation in cryptocurrency will also come to the agenda with the tax package.
Necmi Çalışkan’s Cryptocurrency Statements
Cryptocurrency regulation began to be discussed in the 95th Assembly, 3rd Session. Necmettin Çalışkan, speaking on behalf of the Saadet Party, said the following in general:
“Today we are discussing a long-overdue law. Although the law says regulation by the Capital Markets Board (SPK), it is clearly a law of delegation of authority to the SPK. It is said that there are 10 million cryptocurrency users in Turkey. We experienced an incident where 381,000 people were victimized. A law is being made with a narrow scope. There are regulations aimed only at saving the top players. But there is no clause to prevent victimization. Essentially, institutions that are delayed here may be prosecuted in the future due to victimizations. The government sees it as a source of money. Such a law is coming for the source. Since big investors are involved, taxes are not on the agenda. Income escaping abroad is not brought to the agenda.”
Ümit Özlale’s Cryptocurrency Statements
Ümit Özlale also spoke on behalf of the İYİ Party. He talked about the benefits and usage areas of blockchain technology. These generally focused on potential benefits. On the other hand, Özlale, who mentioned the cost of cryptocurrency mining, explained that BTC and ETH are not minted out of thin air and that there is real value here.
“We missed the previous 3 industrial revolutions, and the 4th industrial revolution is ahead of us. If blockchain and cryptocurrency are seen as a tax and rent gate, we will miss this too. There is a delayed, positive but incomplete law study. In the next process, TBMM should address the issue of cryptocurrency taxation. Financial rent must be taxed. So how will we tax it? The world does not have a clear view on this. We cannot evaluate cryptocurrency as money, we cannot call it a security; we must definitely examine abroad and create a tax legislation. Even if it does not make it to next week’s package, we must address this.”
