Turkey Prepares New Crypto Law to Align With International Standards

[zasad@]

https://news.bitcoin.com/turkey-prepares-new-crypto-law-to-align-with-international-standards/
"Turkey is preparing to present a new law to regulate crypto assets to Parliament. The legislation, aimed at aligning with international standards and reducing risks associated with crypto transactions, will enforce strict regulations on the licensing and operation of cryptocurrency trading platforms by the Capital Markets Board. It will also ensure the safe custody of assets, establish transparent platform-customer relationships, and specify sanctions for non-compliance. The draft legislation is expected to be submitted to Parliament within a week. This initiative, strongly endorsed by Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, seeks to remove Turkey from a financial crime watchdog’s “gray list” and enhance its standing under the Financial Action Task Force’s standards."

[mindrust]

Somehow I feel like we were in a better position when there were no regulations for crypto. Nowadays whenever I hear about a new regulation, it usually means it is going to be harder to use/trade crypto or you will pay more taxes.

I decided to use my crypto coins without using an exchange or any other business which is strictly regulated by the government because of that. I’ll either use giftcard sellers like bitrefill or other business (like namecheap) that accept crypto directly, or I will just make p2p trades.

These centralized exchanges will and should suffer from these regulations. It is time for everyone to move their business to a real decentralized exchange, bisq. Let’s see what the gov can do about that.

[btcinfo891]

I decided to use my crypto coins without using an exchange or any other business which is strictly regulated by the government because of that.

There are still a few decent non-KYC CEXes. Sooner or later the governments will ruin those decent exchanges by forcing them require KYC, but until then it probably makes sense to use them at least in some cases.

[SFR10]

This initiative, strongly endorsed by Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, seeks to remove Turkey from a financial crime watchdog’s “gray list” and enhance its standing under the Financial Action Task Force’s standards."

I'm quite surprised it took them this long to act for something that happened roughly two and a half years ago... Regardless of that, following the FATF's guidelines ^{[e.g. travel rule]} equates to automatically pushing out a lot of their users into decentralized platforms and that'd normally lead to more problems for their government ^{[e.g. endless game of cat and mouse]}.

[avikz]

https://news.bitcoin.com/turkey-prepares-new-crypto-law-to-align-with-international-standards/
"Turkey is preparing to present a new law to regulate crypto assets to Parliament. The legislation, aimed at aligning with international standards and reducing risks associated with crypto transactions, will enforce strict regulations on the licensing and operation of cryptocurrency trading platforms by the Capital Markets Board. It will also ensure the safe custody of assets, establish transparent platform-customer relationships, and specify sanctions for non-compliance. The draft legislation is expected to be submitted to Parliament within a week. This initiative, strongly endorsed by Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, seeks to remove Turkey from a financial crime watchdog’s “gray list” and enhance its standing under the Financial Action Task Force’s standards."

Which essentially means, Turkey is going to implement a stricter Anti Money Laundering Act on crypto transactions and probably ban all non-kyc exchanges from the country.

Whenever some countries talk about following the international standard, it usually starts with taking away the financial freedom of the crypto users and forcing them to report every transactions to the government so that they can be taxed appropriately.

Let's wait for the finalized draft of the law. But unless something shocking happens, Turkish users should start expecting to follow a strict rules regarding crypto transactions.

[yhiaali3]

Turkey has been seeking for years to join NATO and the European Union, and therefore it will do everything necessary to not be included in the “gray list” for monitoring financial crimes, which will certainly be a major stumbling block on the way to joining the European Union, which it has dreamed of for years.

I believe that this “gray list” will force many countries other than Turkey to establish more stringent regulatory laws for cryptocurrencies and everything related to them in order to avoid being placed on the list by the United States and Europe.

[mindrust]

Turkey has been seeking for years to join NATO and the European Union, and therefore it will do everything necessary to not be included in the “gray list” for monitoring financial crimes, which will certainly be a major stumbling block on the way to joining the European Union, which it has dreamed of for years.

I believe that this “gray list” will force many countries other than Turkey to establish more stringent regulatory laws for cryptocurrencies and everything related to them in order to avoid being placed on the list by the United States and Europe.

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_191048.htm

It is this policy that led to its membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on 18 February 1952. Since then, NATO has been the cornerstone of Türkiye’s defence and security policy.

What have you been drinking? Türkiye has been a NATO member for decades, probably one of the oldest members of NATO. (since 1952) Yes Türkiye want to get in the EU but people slowly realize that it is never going to happen.

Getting out of gray list is an important task though. We should definitely handle that asap but I don't have high hopes because it is the current government who invited all that criminals and their money to the country to prevent us from going bankrupt.

[yhiaali3]

What have you been drinking? Türkiye has been a NATO member for decades, probably one of the oldest members of NATO. (since 1952) Yes Türkiye want to get in the EU but people slowly realize that it is never going to happen.

I was drinking milk!!!

Sorry, this is a mistake on my part. You are right. Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952, but it seeks to join the European Union and did not obtain approval. I was a little hasty in writing and did not pay attention to that. Thank you for correcting me.

[blckhawk]

There are still a few decent non-KYC CEXes. Sooner or later the governments will ruin those decent exchanges by forcing them require KYC, but until then it probably makes sense to use them at least in some cases.

A pretty good time to be starting point for establishing informal ways that you can do P2P transactions, that way you don't have to be so worried about your crypto being stuck as a cryptocurrency and that you can still benefit from profiting from it. Hopefully this kind of thing won't happen fast as even if it's inevitable, you can still get the most out of it. When this kind of thing happens, I just mostly think to myself that if worst thing happened and I have to comply with the KYC, I just hope that I wouldn't be targeted and that I'm not really doing anything illegal at all so I can argue that in a KYC exchange, nothing suspicious will arise out of my account.

[Poker Player]

Somehow I feel like we were in a better position when there were no regulations for crypto. Nowadays whenever I hear about a new regulation, it usually means it is going to be harder to use/trade crypto or you will pay more taxes.

Of course. But that was because first because technology is ahead of legislation, and then because when it was a novelty and Bitcoin had a small market cap it didn't attract much attention from politicians either. As it started to attract massive amounts of money, regulation was inevitable.

Something similar happened with the first fiat gambling on the internet. And it still happens to some extent with crypto gambling but we see the trend, to more and more KYC.

[Lucius]

It doesn't seem to me that Türkiye is doing this because of anyone else, but only to be able to control money flows even more effectively and prevent the financing of all those things that are a problem for them. It is no secret that there are many Turks outside of Türkiye who are not satisfied with the regime, and the authorities certainly do not want a repeat of the coup attempt from a few years ago.

As for Türkiye  and the EU, I think that this is a story that will continue for a very long time, because in general, that country is still quite far from what the EU is looking for in order to become a member state. Maybe it's not even that bad for that country, because by joining such a community, you often lose a lot more than you gain.

[btcinfo891]

A pretty good time to be starting point for establishing informal ways that you can do P2P transactions, that way you don't have to be so worried about your crypto being stuck as a cryptocurrency and that you can still benefit from profiting from it. Hopefully this kind of thing won't happen fast as even if it's inevitable, you can still get the most out of it. When this kind of thing happens, I just mostly think to myself that if worst thing happened and I have to comply with the KYC, I just hope that I wouldn't be targeted and that I'm not really doing anything illegal at all so I can argue that in a KYC exchange, nothing suspicious will arise out of my account.

For the time being, crypto-to-crypto trades are not that difficult because we still have the no-KYC CEX exchanges and DEX exchanges. Obviously CEX exchanges give better liquidity and better prices, while DEX exchanges have lower risk of the crypto being locked for non-compliance with different regulations.

For the crypto-to-fiat trades it is more difficult. The only kind of trade that does not (or at least should not) leave a paper trail and leaves a small electronic trail is when the two parties meet face-to-face and side A gives side B cash and side B transfers the crypto to side A, possibly through some escrow service. The second-best option are  the no-KYC crypto ATMs, but their number is decreasing and in 2-3 years I think almost all of them will be gone. And they are more expensive than face-to-face trades.

I think that face-to-face trades will become quite popular when everything gets regulated, but they have their own risks (the famous five-dollar wrench attack). Also the earlier one starts establishing personal contacts with reliable people, the easier it will be to do the face-to-face trades. Then again, finding reliable people is not an easy task in and of itself given the amount of fraud in crypto land.

[zasad@]

It doesn't seem to me that Türkiye is doing this because of anyone else, but only to be able to control money flows even more effectively and prevent the financing of all those things that are a problem for them. It is no secret that there are many Turks outside of Türkiye who are not satisfied with the regime, and the authorities certainly do not want a repeat of the coup attempt from a few years ago.

As for Türkiye  and the EU, I think that this is a story that will continue for a very long time, because in general, that country is still quite far from what the EU is looking for in order to become a member state. Maybe it's not even that bad for that country, because by joining such a community, you often lose a lot more than you gain.

I have not read the bill, but if we analyze the information from the announcement, Turkey also wants the country to keep up with other European countries in this area.
But the question always remains in the implementation of legislation.
My friends there are buying apartments and building real estate. The country has high taxes, and therefore, when selling, the value of real estate is often underestimated.
In Russia it is prohibited to pay with cryptocurrencies. This doesn’t stop anyone in Russia. Large wholesale markets for goods from China have huge volumes - billions of rubles every day in stablecoins at the exchange rate.

[mindrust]

It doesn't seem to me that Türkiye is doing this because of anyone else, but only to be able to control money flows even more effectively and prevent the financing of all those things that are a problem for them. It is no secret that there are many Turks outside of Türkiye who are not satisfied with the regime, and the authorities certainly do not want a repeat of the coup attempt from a few years ago.

As for Türkiye  and the EU, I think that this is a story that will continue for a very long time, because in general, that country is still quite far from what the EU is looking for in order to become a member state. Maybe it's not even that bad for that country, because by joining such a community, you often lose a lot more than you gain.

I have not read the bill, but if we analyze the information from the announcement, Turkey also wants the country to keep up with other European countries in this area.
But the question always remains in the implementation of legislation.
My friends there are buying apartments and building real estate. The country has high taxes, and therefore, when selling, the value of real estate is often underestimated.
In Russia it is prohibited to pay with cryptocurrencies. This doesn’t stop anyone in Russia. Large wholesale markets for goods from China have huge volumes - billions of rubles every day in stablecoins at the exchange rate.

Türkiye has indeed a very vibrant real estate market. The beaches are mostly clean and the sun is mostly shining in the summers. The prices of consumer goods are going nuts lately even against the dollar but the foreigners still can't have enough of Türkiye. I've seen many US, English and German citizens that are living their retirement here in Türkiye. Some even say it is cheaper to live in a nice all-inclusive hotel in Türkiye than living in their home in their home country. Ukrainians and Russians like the southern parts of the country too. I mean who doesn't? The beaches have the most beautiful combination of blue green and yellow you can see in your life.

Maybe the country will join the EU in the future. I know it is unlikely but I am fine even if we don't. As long as the economy is good and I am making money, I don't really care.

[zasad@]

It doesn't seem to me that Türkiye is doing this because of anyone else, but only to be able to control money flows even more effectively and prevent the financing of all those things that are a problem for them. It is no secret that there are many Turks outside of Türkiye who are not satisfied with the regime, and the authorities certainly do not want a repeat of the coup attempt from a few years ago.

As for Türkiye  and the EU, I think that this is a story that will continue for a very long time, because in general, that country is still quite far from what the EU is looking for in order to become a member state. Maybe it's not even that bad for that country, because by joining such a community, you often lose a lot more than you gain.

I have not read the bill, but if we analyze the information from the announcement, Turkey also wants the country to keep up with other European countries in this area.
But the question always remains in the implementation of legislation.
My friends there are buying apartments and building real estate. The country has high taxes, and therefore, when selling, the value of real estate is often underestimated.
In Russia it is prohibited to pay with cryptocurrencies. This doesn’t stop anyone in Russia. Large wholesale markets for goods from China have huge volumes - billions of rubles every day in stablecoins at the exchange rate.

Türkiye has indeed a very vibrant real estate market. The beaches are mostly clean and the sun is mostly shining in the summers. The prices of consumer goods are going nuts lately even against the dollar but the foreigners still can't have enough of Türkiye. I've seen many US, English and German citizens that are living their retirement here in Türkiye. Some even say it is cheaper to live in a nice all-inclusive hotel in Türkiye than living in their home in their home country. Ukrainians and Russians like the southern parts of the country too. I mean who doesn't? The beaches have the most beautiful combination of blue green and yellow you can see in your life.

Maybe the country will join the EU in the future. I know it is unlikely but I am fine even if we don't. As long as the economy is good and I am making money, I don't really care.

The EU is a community of heavily indebted countries, sponsored mainly by France and Germany. All markets are already occupied and there is very high competition there. It is beneficial to join this union at the beginning in order to take its share of the market, but now it is beneficial only for a poor country to join it. Many Western European countries are members of the EU because they receive cheap loans and a lot of money for “democratic reforms.”
If the money stops being allocated, this union will quickly fall apart.

[pakhitheboss]

Turkey was placed on the gray list of FATAF because they were unable to supervise/control the following businesses:
1. Banks
2. Real estate
3. Financing designated terrorist groups by the UN
3. Other vulnerable sectors to money laundering (this might be the reason they are now regulating the cryptocurrency sector.)

In 2021, they were added to the grey list and are now in the process of creating a new crypto law. With their fiat currencies losing value, likely, many citizens have already switched from fiat to cryptocurrencies. This could be another reason for their decision to introduce new legislation. I feel we were far much better before countries decided to regulate cryptocurrencies which was never meant to be regulated.

[Lucius]

~snip~
In Russia it is prohibited to pay with cryptocurrencies. This doesn’t stop anyone in Russia. Large wholesale markets for goods from China have huge volumes - billions of rubles every day in stablecoins at the exchange rate.

Payment with cryptocurrencies is also prohibited in Türkiye (unless something has changed in the last few months), but one forum member confirmed that this does not prevent shops and restaurants from accepting cryptocurrencies - which means that the law exists only on paper. However, people will always find a way to trade - and why not by paying in cryptocurrencies if they already exist.

The EU is a community of heavily indebted countries, sponsored mainly by France and Germany. All markets are already occupied and there is very high competition there. It is beneficial to join this union at the beginning in order to take its share of the market, but now it is beneficial only for a poor country to join it. Many Western European countries are members of the EU because they receive cheap loans and a lot of money for “democratic reforms.”
If the money stops being allocated, this union will quickly fall apart.

Not everything is as dark as you write, but I understand that there is a big influence of what your media puts into the public because of the war in Ukraine. Despite everything, the EU is holding up very well, and it is not quite right to say that it is only held together by money.

[mindrust]

which means that the law exists only on paper.

That's true for almost every law in Türkiye which can be good or bad depending on the situation I guess. Unless somebody files a complaint, nobody cares.

A few days ago, some German tourist who took the crosswalk was run over by a friggin truck. (r.i.p.) People who came from Europe to Türkiye might find it weird but nobody gives a shit about crosswalk here. Actually when people see a crosswalk they usually act like cars have a priority over the pedestrians   That's why many Turkish people who go for a vacation to Europe have a mindfuck till they figure out what crosswalk was about. If you ever see a pedestrian in EU who is waiting on the crosswalk for the car to move, he/she is probably Turkish.

[zasad@]

~snip~
In Russia it is prohibited to pay with cryptocurrencies. This doesn’t stop anyone in Russia. Large wholesale markets for goods from China have huge volumes - billions of rubles every day in stablecoins at the exchange rate.

Payment with cryptocurrencies is also prohibited in Türkiye (unless something has changed in the last few months), but one forum member confirmed that this does not prevent shops and restaurants from accepting cryptocurrencies - which means that the law exists only on paper. However, people will always find a way to trade - and why not by paying in cryptocurrencies if they already exist.

The EU is a community of heavily indebted countries, sponsored mainly by France and Germany. All markets are already occupied and there is very high competition there. It is beneficial to join this union at the beginning in order to take its share of the market, but now it is beneficial only for a poor country to join it. Many Western European countries are members of the EU because they receive cheap loans and a lot of money for “democratic reforms.”
If the money stops being allocated, this union will quickly fall apart.

Not everything is as dark as you write, but I understand that there is a big influence of what your media puts into the public because of the war in Ukraine. Despite everything, the EU is holding up very well, and it is not quite right to say that it is only held together by money.

You are right that in Turkey the cryptocurrency law exists only on paper. I have already realized why there is no such law in Russia

You don't have to say that I have a negative attitude towards Europe. Europe has always had countries with deficit budgets, and now these countries have been deprived of cheap gas and other raw materials. In a market economy it will be hard for these countries without cheap loans and support.

[atookz]

I think there are several reasons why Turkey drafted this law. Firstly to protect against fraud and market manipulation, secondly to ensure crypto trading is not used for illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorism financing. As far as I know, previously Turkey already had several crypto regulations. These regulations include obligations for crypto exchanges to register with the government and comply with anti money laundering (AML) and counter financing terrorism (CFT) regulations. However, this regulation does not regulate crypto trading in detail, such as trading mechanisms, investor protection, and taxation. So a new crypto law was created that regulates it in more detail. Moreover, this is also an effort to get Turkey off the gray list of financial crime watchdogs.