Turkey Updates Cryptocurrency Regulation Amid Payments Ban and Collapsing Exchanges

The Turkish government has updated the country’s cryptocurrency regulation following the banning of cryptocurrencies for payments and failing crypto exchanges.

• Published in the Official Gazette on Saturday, the new rule adds crypto trading platforms to the list of entities covered by anti-money laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations.

• The Official Gazette states that the country’s latest expansion of rules covering cryptocurrency transactions would take immediate effect. Crypto service providers must now comply with existing regulations.

• The government previously said that it plans to establish a central custodian bank to eliminate counterparty risk among other provisions.

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• Turkey’s central bank recently banned the use of cryptocurrencies for payments. Following the ban, two Turkish cryptocurrency exchanges, Thodex and Vebitcoin, halted trading abruptly and are now being investigated for fraud.

• Six people have been jailed in connection with the fraud investigation of the crypto exchange Thodex, whose CEO Faruk Fatih Ozer has fled the country. Turkish authorities and Interpol are looking for him in four countries.

What do you think about Turkey extending AML and CFT regulations to cryptocurrency exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below.