Regulation
Turkish Parliament Passes New Crypto Asset Regulation Bill
The long-awaited bill including regulations regarding cryptocurrencies was accepted by the Turkish Parliament on Wednesday and became law.
The “Draft Law on Amendments to the Capital Markets Law” was approved by the General Assembly of Parliament.
According to the bill, crypto asset service providers must obtain authorization from the Capital Markets Board (SPK) before their establishment and operation. While the power to regulate the ecosystem is entrusted to the Capital Markets Board, the criteria determined by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK) will be applied in matters of information systems and technological infrastructure.
With the law, definitions regarding crypto assets such as “crypto asset”, “crypto asset service provider” and “wallet” are added to the Capital Markets Act.
One of the main focuses of the first regulations was the licensing processes for platforms providing services in the country. Accordingly, it will be mandatory for platforms to obtain permission from the SPK to establish themselves and start operating.
The SPK can take regulatory measures, make decisions of a specific and general nature and apply measures and sanctions. At the same time, financial audit and independent audit of information systems of crypto asset service providers will be carried out by independent audit firms included in the list announced by the SPK, the Agency reported Anadolu (AA).
Another important problem with the law is that there are no regulations regarding the taxation of crypto assets. This issue will be addressed in the future by a separate law or regulation.
Furthermore, the law stipulates that natural persons and managers of legal entities who operate as cryptoasset service providers without authorization will be sentenced to imprisonment of three to five years and a judicial fine of 5,000 at 10,000 days.
Service providers misappropriating money or assets entrusted to them, including crypto assets, will be subject to imprisonment of eight to 14 years and fines of up to 5,000 days and will have to repair the damage.
The new regulations suggest that currently operating crypto asset service providers must apply to the SPK within a month. Platforms that do not apply are asked to cease operations and make a liquidation decision within three months.
In this way, it aims to establish an environment of transparency and trust in the sector. Cryptocurrencies are very popular in Turkey and the country is one of the largest cryptocurrency trading markets in the world.
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