Turkey considers digital asset regulations to reduce abuse

 

Turkey

considers digital asset regulations to

reduce abuse

According to government officials

Turkey is

currently considering new regulations for digital assets

which will focus in particular on licensing and taxation.

Turkey

is one of the largest digital asset centers in the world

Chainalogy ranked it

fourth in transaction volume, after the United States

India and the United Kingdom, and 12th in adoption.

Nevertheless

the Government has not yet established regulations

for this emerging sector, despite this being 

a recommendation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

A senior government official told Reuters that

the regulations could be implemented next year.

The move comes after Finance Minister Mohammed Shimchek pledged in

October that the government will work on developing regulations

for digital assets soon to comply with the FATF's recommendations.

And in 2021

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

downgraded Turkey to the grey list of countries suspected of money

laundering cases and issued 40 recommendations to

the country located in Eastern Europe.

Shimchek assured Parliament that

Turkey adhered to all recommendations made

by the Financial Task Force, with the exception of

the issue of dealing with digital assets.

Although

the FTG

is not a legislative body, its classifications affect

the state's ability to attract foreign investment and obtain loans

from international financial institutions

such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Croatia

Nigeria

the Philippines

the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam are other countries currently on 

the Financial Action Task Force's grey list. 

Thus

 regulating cryptocurrencies is one of Turkey's priorities for 2024.

Bora Erdamar

director of the local BlockchainIST Center research firm

noted that providing specific licensing standards

 would be a top priority in the new regulations.

 It is believed that

 these new regulations will prevent misuse of the system.

Turkey's reliance on digital assets has increased dramatically in recent years

with local citizens looking for alternatives to the rapidly losing value of 

Turkish lira. 

Since March this year

the lira has lost 53% of its value against the dollar.

Erdamar added that Turkey

 has great potential in the field of blockchain technology 

and encrypted assets, and that a reasonable tax policy that

 will not fear investors will enhance confidence in the sector.

Although the new regulations will be unveiled in the next few months

Onor Altan Tan, a board member of the local digital asset platform Fexobit

 confirmed that work on these regulations

 has been in place for more than two years.

We have done more than two years of

 work on these regulations

including consultation meetings

 with cryptocurrency exchange companies

so they need to be ready to submit to Parliament," Tan told Reuters.