Turkey Cracks Down on Crypto: New Rules to Combat Money Laundering!

Ministry of Treasury and Finance Rolls Out Ambitious Oversight Plan

Turkey's Ministry of Treasury and Finance is pulling no punches in its fight against dirty money flowing through crypto!

Hear this, folks: Turkey's Ministry of Treasury and Finance is going all-out to stop money laundering in the wild world of crypto. We've got the scoop from Anadolu Agency that new, tough-as-nails regulations are about to drop, cranking up the heat on crypto asset transactions.

Get ready, Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs)! You'll need to keep a hawk's eye on where the cash is coming from and why those cryptos are moving. Every single crypto transaction? Yup, they'll need a minimum 20-character explanation from the user. And for withdrawals where the “travel rule” isn't in play, brace yourselves for a time delay—48 hours after you buy, exchange, or deposit, and a whopping 72 hours for first-timers.

And hold onto your hats, stablecoin fans, because there are new limits coming at you. Daily transfers max out at $3,000, and monthly at $50,000. These caps are all about slamming the door on shady money, especially the kind that comes from illegal betting and fraud. But listen up, if your CASP sticks to the travel rule like glue, you can double those limits!

Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek isn't messing around. He's all about stopping the bad guys without putting the brakes on legit crypto action. Transactions for market-making, arbitrage, and liquidity? They're off the hook from these new limits—as long as they've got verifiable fund sources and happen on platforms playing by the rules.

But here's the kicker: platforms that don't play nice with these new rules? They're in for a world of hurt. We're talking administrative, legal, and financial penalties, not to mention the possibility of getting their licenses yanked right out from under them.

This isn't just some minor tweak, folks. Turkey's on a mission to clamp down hard on the crypto scene. Back in March, the Capital Markets Board threw down the gauntlet with licensing and operational demands for CASPs, giving regulators full control over exchanges, wallets, and custodians.

Under this new regime, crypto businesses better buckle up for stricter reporting and transparency. That means issuing numbered transaction records that lay out every detail—the type, quantity, and price of crypto assets, plus any fees or commissions. And don't forget, platforms have to dish out monthly account statements to customers, showing every crypto asset bought, sold, or transferred.