Türkiye moved from unregulated to licensed in under two years. Law No. 7518, published in July 2024, amended the Capital Markets Law to put crypto asset service providers, exchanges, custodians, and wallet providers, under Capital Markets Board licensing; secondary regulations in March 2025 set the operating rules, including substantial minimum capital for exchanges and far higher requirements for custodians, customer-asset segregation with most assets held at licensed custodians, listing procedures, and fit-and-proper standards. Platforms operating during the transition appear on the CMB's in-process list while applications are determined, and the Board blocks unauthorized foreign platforms.
The 2021 central bank regulation prohibiting the use of crypto assets in payments remains fully in force, so the regime licenses trading and custody of an asset class that cannot lawfully be spent. AML rules under MASAK have tightened in step, with travel-rule obligations and 2025 measures against mule accounts and suspicious transfers, including transfer delays and enhanced identification. One of the world's highest-adoption markets, driven by lira depreciation, now trades inside a supervised perimeter.
The instruments
Law No. 7518 amending the Capital Markets Law
Defines crypto assets and crypto asset service providers, requires CMB licensing for exchanges, custodians, and wallet providers, mandates segregation and custody of customer assets predominantly at licensed custodians, and sets minimum capital, governance, and listing standards through two implementing communiqués.
Regulation on the disuse of crypto assets in payments
Prohibits using crypto assets directly or indirectly in payments and bars payment institutions from crypto-related fund flows; holding and trading remain lawful.