Turkey's Capital Markets Board (CMB) has taken steps to block 46 cryptocurrency platforms, including the major decentralized exchange PancakeSwap.
Blocking Crypto Services
On Thursday, the CMB announced legal actions against platforms that were allegedly 'providing unauthorized crypto asset services' to Turkish residents. The blocking of PancakeSwap, which had a trading volume exceeding $325 billion in June, was noted among other sites such as Cryptoradar. The regulator did not specify how it determined that these services were in violation of Turkish law.
Tightening Regulation in Turkey
Since March 2023, the CMB has taken full oversight over crypto asset service providers operating within the country. New rules require users to provide identifying information for transactions exceeding 15,000 Turkish lira (around $425). While buying and holding crypto remains legal, digital asset payments have been banned since 2021, which sparked backlash from parts of the crypto community.
Consequences and International Analogies
This enforcement aligns Turkey with other countries like Kazakhstan, Russia, Venezuela, and the Philippines, which have blacklisted unregistered crypto services. The recent tightening of anti-money laundering measures and customer identification policies will come into effect in February 2025.
Turkey is tightening its stance on cryptocurrency, reflecting a broader trend towards increased regulation of the crypto sector worldwide.
