Crypto Laws in Turkey: A Foreigner's Guide to Licensing, the Payment Ban, MASAK and Tax

Crypto is legal to own and trade in Turkey, but it is now tightly regulated: exchanges and custodians must be licensed by the Capital Markets Board, you cannot use crypto to pay for goods, and anti-money-laundering rules control how you move funds. This 2026 guide explains the current rules for foreign investors, traders and businesses holding or moving crypto-assets in Turkey, including the June 2026 licensing deadline, MASAK withdrawal limits and where crypto tax stands today.

Is cryptocurrency legal in Turkey?

Yes. Owning, buying, selling and trading cryptocurrency is legal in Turkey, and the country has one of the highest crypto-adoption rates in the world. What changed is the level of supervision. Until mid-2024, crypto-assets sat in a legal grey zone, touched only by limited anti-money-laundering and payment rules. They were neither prohibited nor comprehensively regulated.

That changed with Law No. 7518, which amended the Capital Markets Law (Sermaye Piyasası Kanunu, Law No. 6362) to create a dedicated framework for crypto-asset service providers. Turkey now runs a licensing-based system supervised by the Capital Markets Board, and the detailed operating rules have since been published and are in force as of 2026.

The headline for foreigners is simple: crypto itself is legal to hold and trade, but the businesses that custody, exchange or broker it must be licensed. Using an unlicensed platform exposes you to compliance, freezing and recovery risk that a licensed platform reduces.

The 2024 reform: Law No. 7518 and the Capital Markets Law

Law No. 7518 inserted crypto-asset provisions into Capital Markets Law No. 6362 and named the Capital Markets Board (Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu, SPK / CMB) as the primary regulator. It introduced legal definitions that did not previously exist in Turkish law.

• Crypto-asset (kripto varlık): an intangible asset that can be created and stored electronically using distributed ledger or similar technology, distributed over digital networks and expressing value or rights.
• Crypto-asset service provider (CASP): platforms, custodians and other institutions providing services such as trading, initial sale or distribution, clearing, transfer and custody of crypto-assets.
• Crypto-asset custody service: the safekeeping and administration of crypto-assets or the means of access to them (for example, private keys) on behalf of customers.

The law makes operating as a CASP without authorisation a regulated activity that requires permission from the CMB, and sets out customer-asset protection, record-keeping and information-security duties. The detailed secondary rules that put numbers and deadlines on these duties are explained in the next section.

Crypto licensing in Turkey: the 30 June 2026 deadline

The licensing regime is no longer just a framework on paper. The CMB published two binding communiqués in the Official Gazette on 13 March 2025: Communiqué III-35/B.1 (establishment and operating principles of crypto-asset service providers) and Communiqué III-35/B.2 (operating procedures and capital adequacy). Together they set the concrete rules every exchange and custodian in Turkey must now meet.

What licensed platforms must do

• Hold minimum capital set by the CMB — reported at around 150 million TL for exchanges and 500 million TL for custody service providers (confirm the current figure before relying on it).
• Pass fit-and-proper checks on shareholders and senior management.
• Segregate customer crypto-assets and cash from the platform's own assets.
• Use secure custody arrangements for private keys and customer holdings.
• Run information-security, audit and reporting systems, and comply with the MASAK rules described below.

How to check whether an exchange is licensed

The CMB maintains lists of crypto platforms. During the transition there was a difference between an entity merely included on the operators list and one that has obtained a full operating licence. Before you deposit funds, confirm the platform appears on the CMB's list of authorised providers, not only on a transitional operators list. Dealing with a licensed entity strengthens the legal protection of your assets and the enforceability of your claims if a dispute arises.

If you are setting up a crypto or fintech company in Turkey, or acquiring or investing in a licensed Turkish crypto platform, these capital, governance and fit-and-proper rules drive the whole structure, so build the licence requirements into your plan from day one.

The payment ban: you cannot pay with crypto

One rule predates the 2024 reform and still applies in 2026. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) issued the Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto-Assets in Payments on 16 April 2021. It prohibits using crypto-assets, directly or indirectly, as a means of payment, and bars payment and electronic-money institutions from building business models around crypto payments. Law No. 7518 did not lift this ban; the two regimes sit side by side.

This distinction matters when you structure transactions. A contract that tries to settle a debt purely in cryptocurrency as a payment instrument can run into trouble under Turkish obligations law (Turkish Code of Obligations, Law No. 6098) and the payment ban. Parties commonly price in fiat and convert, or document a crypto transfer as an asset transfer rather than a payment. It is worth having a Turkish lawyer review crypto transfer and settlement clauses before you sign.

MASAK and anti-money-laundering rules for crypto

Since 1 May 2021, crypto-asset service providers have been obliged parties under Turkey's anti-money-laundering regime, built on the Law on Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime, Law No. 5549 and enforced by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK). In 2025 these duties were tightened significantly.

What you will be asked for

• Identity verification (KYC): a passport, your Turkish tax identification number (potansiyel vergi kimlik numarası), and usually proof of address.
• Source of funds and purpose: declarations explaining where your money comes from and why you are transacting.
• Record-keeping and reporting: the platform retains your records and reports suspicious activity to MASAK.

For foreigners, the practical risk is a frozen withdrawal. Missing or inconsistent documentation, or a transfer that exceeds the limits above, is the most common reason a platform holds funds. Complete verification early and keep your source-of-funds evidence ready.

Stablecoins, USDT and moving value in and out of Turkey

Most foreigners move value in and out of Turkey using stablecoins such as USDT and USDC rather than volatile coins, so the MASAK limits above hit them hardest. The daily and monthly stablecoin caps, and the requirement to declare source of funds and purpose, are now the main friction points for a foreign trader, not the trading itself.

A common question is whether crypto can fund a property purchase or a citizenship application. It cannot be the payment rail. Because of the 16 April 2021 ban, the actual purchase price must move through the regulated banking system, which is exactly why crypto cannot be the payment rail for citizenship or property purchases. You may liquidate crypto to fiat and route the proceeds through a bank, with proper documentation, but the contract and transfer must be in money.

How is crypto taxed in Turkey in 2026?

As of June 2026, Turkey has not enacted a stand-alone cryptocurrency tax — there is no dedicated capital-gains tax on trading and no specific crypto transaction tax in force. That position is current, but it is a moving target, so it is worth understanding what nearly changed.

No dedicated crypto tax does not mean crypto activity is tax-free. General Turkish tax principles can still apply on the facts:

• Income / corporate tax: systematic, business-like trading, or crypto activity carried out by a company, can fall within ordinary income-tax or corporate-tax principles.
• Mining and staking: rewards from mining or staking may be treated as income under general principles depending on scale and whether the activity is commercial; there is no special crypto carve-out.
• Source and residence rules: your tax residence and the nature of the gain affect treatment, and cross-border situations may engage Turkey's double-tax treaties.

Cross-border, inheritance and fraud-recovery issues for foreigners

Foreign holders raise three further questions, and Turkish law has tools for each.

Cross-border holdings and conflicts of law

Where assets, parties or platforms span multiple countries, the Code on International Private and Procedural Law (MÖHUK, Law No. 5718) governs which law applies and which courts have jurisdiction. This matters for foreign investors using offshore exchanges while resident in Turkey, and for anyone whose crypto and bank relationships cross borders.

Inheritance of crypto-assets

Crypto-assets form part of an estate. Succession is handled under the Turkish Civil Code (Law No. 4721), with cross-border estates again engaging MÖHUK. The real challenge is access: heirs need the private keys or platform credentials, so good inheritance and estate planning for crypto-assets should address custody and key recovery, not just the will.

Fraud, theft and recovery

Crypto fraud, hacking and unauthorised access can engage the Turkish Penal Code (Law No. 5237) alongside civil claims under the Code of Obligations (Law No. 6098). Tracing and recovery are difficult but not impossible, especially against a licensed, identifiable Turkish platform. If you need help addressing crypto fraud, hacking and Penal Code offences or recovering funds from a Turkish exchange or counterparty, early action and preservation of evidence are critical.

Further reading

For more background, see our companion guides on Turkey's crypto-asset regulatory landscape and the regulatory framework for crypto platforms in Turkey. If you are dealing with any of these situations, contact Lexin Legal for guidance tailored to your facts.

Frequently asked questions