Share this article
Turkish Crypto Exchanges Must Report Transactions Over $1,200, Finance Minister Says
The country is rushing to regulate the crypto market after two local crypto exchanges went offline in April.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:52 p.m. Published May 7, 2021, 5:19 p.m.
Turkish crypto exchanges will have to report purchases exceeding 10,000 Turkish lira (around $1,200) to financial authorities under upcoming anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, according to Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister Lütfi Elvan, who discussed the rules on CNN Turkey Thursday night.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The Turkish government vowed to swiftly regulate the local crypto industry after two local cryptocurrency exchanges shut down operations overnight within days of each other in April, prompting an international manhunt for the CEO of one platform. Shortly after the incidents, Şahap Kavacıoğlu, the head of Turkey’s central bank, said that crypto regulations were coming soon, although he said an outright ban was unlikely.
On May 1, Turkey added crypto platforms to the list of firms covered by AML regulations. On Thursday night, Elvan said that he doesn't see the need to rush regulations and that they should be considered and implemented carefully.
Elvan added that MASAK, Turkey’s financial crimes investigation board, has been given the authority to oversee compliance with the regulations.
According to Tansel Kaya, managing partner at the Mindstone Blockchain Labs, the government needs to provide clarity and to do so soon. “For example, the latest order talks about crypto asset service providers? What are they? Unclear," Kaya said.
“The government wants to access records. It's just how the mechanism is defined. Anything above 10,000 lira will be actively sent to the agency for monitoring financial crimes,” Kaya said.
As recently as March, crypto was completely unregulated in the country, and the demand for bitcoin and other virtual currencies was on the rise, fueled by the recent pressure on the Turkish lira.
But in mid-April, the government issued a ban on cryptocurrencies for payments that went into effect at the end of the month. Shortly afterward, local cryptocurrency exchanges Thodex and Vebitcoin went offline, prompting the government to speed up regulations.
During his appearance on CNN Turkey, Alvan didn't specify when the new AML regulations would take effect.
“All in all, we are going to have regulations soon,” Kaya said.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
CF Benchmarks views bitcoin as portfolio staple, projects $1.4 million price target by 2035
The index provider applies capital market models to bitcoin, arguing institutional adoption supports long-term valuations and structured portfolio allocation.
What to know:
- CF Benchmarks applies traditional capital market assumptions to bitcoin for institutional inve
- The framework derives bear, base and bull price scenarios through 2035.
- The analysis argues that bitcoin can improve portfolio efficiency at modest allocation levels.
Top Stories
