During 2020, there had been high rates regarding the adoption of cryptocurrency in Turkey. It is apparent by the statistics that the country was considered one among those having broader exposure to cryptocurrency across the globe. The polls highlighted that almost 16% of the locals in Turkey had utilized or possessed cryptocurrencies. The cause behind such a large volume can rightly be associated with the ever-increasing unregulated environment that the country’s population had been facing for years. As a result, Turkey modified itself to become a crypto-favoring country. Unluckily, the current upsurge in cryptocurrency would consequently be encountered by the heavier measures of the authorities.
Crypto journey in Turkey
Similar to several others across the world, the citizens of Turkey also herded considerably into the crypto space over the past year while aspiring to avoid prominent issues like inflation. During this year, the unregulated market of cryptocurrency of the country came under high scrutiny. The authorities began to mount the restrictions and increase the system of tax. In March, some concerns were expressed by the Treasury-and-Finance Ministry of the country. They declared to collaboratively examine the subject in association with various local regulators. It was in April that the government announced the legislation to put a prohibition over the utilization of crypto as a method of payment in return for the services and goods. The authoritative newsletter by the Turkish government contained this news. The respective ban was implemented from 30 April onwards. The state bank, during a statement to elaborate the reasons behind the ban, stated that the transactions done via crypto utilization posed undoable risks. It further mentioned that the virtual assets could not be handled by any supervision mechanisms or regulations, along with its volatility being uncontrollable under even a central authority of regulation.
Declaration of war by President Erdoğan
During a Youth-Meeting-Program which took place on Friday, Turkey’s President disclosed, while answering a question about the central bank’s view relating to cryptocurrency, that a separate war was being fought in the confrontation of cryptocurrencies. The President asserted that he does not have any issue with the spread of cryptocurrencies. He added that the country would not prefer crypto in place of its traditional money, which is considered to be a part of national identity. These remarks were preceded by the announcement of the central bank to develop the “Digital-Turkish-Lira-Collaboration-Platform” for the provision of a native CBDC on 15th September.
