Regulation
Is Binance Planning to Leave the Turkish Market?
To all cryptocurrency users in Türkiye, listen up!
Five days after the Turkish Parliament adopted a new cryptocurrency regulation bill, Binance Global announced changes to its services in Turkey. In a statement titled “Binance Services in Turkey Updates Based on New Cryptocurrency Regulations,” Binance announced that Binance.com will remain accessible to Turkish users. However, the Turkish language option will be phased out over the next three months.
Read on to find out exactly what’s changing and what it could mean for your cryptocurrency experience in Turkey.
New regulatory environment
According to the new cryptocurrency regulation bill, cryptocurrency service providers must obtain a license from the Capital Markets Board (SPK) to establish or start operations in the country. The law provides for imprisonment of three to five years and court fines ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 days for individuals and officers of legal entities found operating as cryptocurrency service providers without a license.
Any service provider found to be stealing money or cryptocurrencies will face a prison sentence of 8 to 14 years, as well as court fines of up to 5,000 days, and will have to pay damages. Currently, Turkey has no regulations regarding cryptocurrency taxation, but this issue is expected to be addressed by future legislation.
Growing Cryptocurrency Adoption in Türkiye
According to HedgewithCrypto, Turkey’s cryptocurrency adoption rate has doubled in the past three years, from 16% to 40% of the population holding cryptocurrency. This makes Turkey one of the countries with the highest rates of cryptocurrency adoption, with estimates suggesting that two out of five Turkish citizens hold cryptocurrency.
Binance’s presence on the market
CoinMarketCap data shows that over the past 24 hours, trading volume on Binance TR was $201.2 million. Binance’s internal trading data indicates that in September 2023, the Turkish lira ranked first among the exchange’s fiat trading pairs, accounting for a staggering 75%.
Economic Impact of Cryptocurrencies in Türkiye
A report published by Chainalysis in March 2024 ranked Turkey as the tenth largest cryptocurrency earner in 2023, with an estimated gain of $0.95 billion.
Source: Chainanalysis
The reasons behind Binance’s recent changes in Turkey remain unclear, but there is speculation that Binance is planning to withdraw from the Turkish market. New cryptocurrency regulations in Turkey require platforms that do not apply for an SPK license to cease operations and make a decision to liquidate within three months.
Read also: Cryptocurrency Regulation in Türkiye 2024
The high adoption of cryptocurrencies in Turkey is undeniable. Do these new regulations strike the right balance or will they stifle innovation?