The Turkish President welcomed Nayib Bukele to Ankara for an official state visit. Anyone expecting a Bitcoin talk left disappointed.
Tag: Turkey
Turkish ruling party holds meeting in metaverse, talks crypto regulation
Turkey’s governing political party has discussed the upcoming crypto regulation in its first metaverse meeting.
Ava Labs and EV maker Togg to build smart contract-based mobility services
Turkey’s electronic vehicle (EV) manufacturer Togg has announced a strategic partnership with Ava Labs to design and build smart contract-based services aimed at improving autonomous mobility.
Togg’s collaboration with Ava Labs, a team dedicated to supporting and developing the Avalanche public blockchain, was revealed at the CES 2022 event in Las Vegas. As Cointelegraph Turkey reported, the partnership aims to fast-track Togg’s Use-Case Mobility initiative, which combines different technologies and transportation solutions to produce cars with more functionalities as compared to traditional EVs.
According to the official announcement, Togg has been exploring use cases around blockchain and related technologies in EVs for more than a year. With Ava Labs’ partnership, Togg intends to infuse Internet of things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication to expand and accelerate its EV capabilities.
Togg will implement smart contracts and blockchain technology for allowing users to pick up a reserved scooter or taxi while charging their EVs, enabling seamless mobility. Gürcan Karakaş, the CEO of Togg said:
“Our collaboration with Ava Labs is built on taking the experience of Togg users to the next level, going beyond automobiles to empower partners, users and non-Togg users across the mobility ecosystem to benefit from this platform.”
Moreover, Ava Labs’ partnership will allow Togg to store vehicle maintenance and parts information over the Avalanche blockchain, which will be foundational to a reliable second-hand market.
Related: Dogecoin gains 25% after Elon Musk confirms Tesla will accept DOGE for merchandise
Back in December, Dogecoin (DOGE) price went up by 25% soon after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced plans to accept DOGE for Tesla merchandise.
Tesla will make some merch buyable with Doge & see how it goes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2021
As Cointelegraph reported, Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed DOGE/USD climbing over 25% to become the only major cryptocurrency to deliver gains on the day.
Turkey’s Concern for Crypto Mounts, Races to Implement Long-Awaited Regulation
Following confirmation that the long-awaited crypto regulation is ready by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stakeholders in the country want the regulations to be implemented as soon as possible.
As reported by local news platform, the Daily Sabah, key stakeholders, including members of parliament, crypto executives, and representatives of public institutions such as the Technology and Infrastructure Ministry, the Treasury and Finance Ministry, the Turkish banking watchdog Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), the Revenue Administration and the central bank, all met on Thursday to discuss the regulations which are billed to govern the ecosystem.
Commenting after the meeting, the AK Party Group Deputy Chairperson Mustafa Elitaş said that the general consensus amongst the participants was that the law should be rolled out immediately. He added that;
“The representatives expressed the drawbacks about going and returning from abroad, and an arrangement needs to be made for these. Determinations should be made in this regard so that new grievances do not arise. There is a market volume of $2 billion-$3 billion, and there are between 5 million and 14 million players and investors in this market. There may be manipulations, but legal regulation is clearly needed to prevent them.”
The digital currency ecosystem is obviously not the same as a decade ago. While Elitaş pointed out that more than seven countries have rolled out their own regulation, Turkey will also not like to sit on the sidelines. According to insights, crypto stakeholders were reportedly not against crypto taxation, an intricate provision that countries like South Korea postponed implementing by January 2022.
Despite the unity of all the stakeholders in relation to the proposed crypto regulation in Turkey, there are concerns about rebalancing with foreign entities. However, Elitaş said the text of the regulations would be such that it can easily be adjusted as required shortly.
Image source: Shutterstock
Law Decoded: Three regulatory trends of 2021, Dec. 20–27
The year past saw some fundamental transformations in the relationship between state power and the digital asset space.
Binance Turkey fined 8M lira for non-compliance against money laundering
The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), which serves as Turkey’s financial intelligence unit under the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, found crypto exchange Binance’s Turkey operations guilty of violating laws that intend to prevent the laundering of money acquired through criminal means. According to local news media Anadolu Agency, MASAK carried out an audit of Law No. 5549 on Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime, also known as the AML Law.
The AML Law in Turkey requires companies to identify and verify the personal identification information of the customers on the platform, which includes details such as surname, date of birth, T.C. identification number (Turkey equivalent of a social security number) and type and number of identity documents. The law also requires businesses to immediately notify the government about suspicious activities within a 10-day period.
As Cointelegraph Turkey reported, the watchdog imposed the maximum possible administrative fine of 8 million Turkish lira for the alleged violation. Additionally, this timeline also coincides with the day President Erdoğan announced the completion of a crypto law draft that will soon be handed over to the Parliament for approval.
With this, Binance also becomes the first crypto business to get fined by the Turkish government. Moreover, MASAK is working closely with Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global regulator against money laundering and terrorist financing, according to former Treasury and Cost Minister Lutfi Elvan:
“FATF has asked for measures to be taken against crypto trading platforms.”
In line with this request, MASAK has also agreed to report transactions that exceed the value of 10 thousand lira within 10 days.
Related: Turkey’s crypto law is ready for parliament, President Erdoğan confirms
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed the completion of a crypto law that will soon be handed over to the Parliament for mainstream implementation.
As Cointelegraph reported, the crypto law envisions a new economic model that can bolster Turkey’s effort to bring back the depreciating value of lira. Erdoğan also said that the recent inflation on Turkish lira is not related to mathematics but a matter of process — implying a possibility and potential of lira’s value growth:
“With this understanding, we intend to channel it to a dry spot. But the exchange rate will find its own price on the market.”
The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) has fined Binance Turkey 8 million lira (nearly $750,000) after the crypto exchange failed the financial watchdog’s audit for monitoring Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance.
Turkey’s crypto law is ready for parliament, President Erdoğan confirms
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reportedly confirmed the completion of a crypto law draft that will soon be shared with the Parliament for mainstream implementation in the country.
In an effort to counter the falling value of the Turkish lira, President Erdoğan shared plans to implement a new economic model while speaking at a press conference in Istanbul. As reported by local media NTV, Erdoğan said that the cryptocurrency bill is ready, adding:
“We will take steps on this issue by sending it to Parliament without delay.”
Acknowledging the country’s recent inflationary episode, Erdoğan said that the currency event is not related to mathematics but a matter of process — implying a possibility and potential of lira’s value growth:
“With this understanding, we intend to channel it to a dry spot. But the exchange rate will find its own price on the market.”
With the introduction of the new crypto law, the president envisions Turkey to become one of the 10 largest economies in the world. Speaking about the rising prices in the region, he shared plans to follow the people who change the labels of the price list organizers several times a day. “We want them to lower the dollar’s increases now,” he concluded.
Related: Bitcoin hits new all-time high in Turkey as fiat currency lira goes into freefall
On Nov. 23, Bitcoin holders in Turkey avoided an accelerating currency collapse as the lira lost 15% against the U.S. dollar in a single day.
As Cointelegraph reported, the fiat currency’s fall resulted in Bitcoin (BTC) reaching a new all-time high against the Turkish lira. The BTC/TRY trading pair reached 723,329 Turkish lira on Binance.
Turkey President Announces a Cryptocurrency Bill, Speaks of a New Economic Model
Santa Claus could be granting the wishes of Turkish cryptocurrency enthusiasts as the country embarks on a revolutionary change in its cryptocurrency policy.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said today in a press conference that he expected the nation to make a leap forward with a new economic model, and as a first step, he would touch the crypto industry by creating a law to promote their legal use in the country.
Turkey President Talks of a New Economic Model
The President of Turkey highlighted his interest in the topic of cryptocurrencies. He explained that his staff has a Crypto Bill ready to be sent to the Congress for discussion as soon as possible.
“We will take steps on this issue by sending (the bill) to Parliament without delay. Turkey will make a leap forward with its new economic model. It is worth taking these risks.”
The draft is not yet publicly available, and Turkey’s president did not provide further details on its content; however, one of the bill’s key points appears to be focused on the role of the central bank as the regulatory body for cryptocurrency transactions their safe custody.
“Citizens will know that their money is guaranteed by the central bank, the guarantor of the country’s treasury”
In other words, although there is no mention of the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender or payment currency, it does open a window to a possible industry of crypto-powered banking services.
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This is of particular importance in light of the recent collapse of two major cryptocurrency exchanges: Thodex and Vebitcoin
A (Not So) Surprising Cryptocurrency Bill
Turkey’s decision comes as a surprise as the country has not precisely been crypto-friendly in the past.
As recently as September 2021, President Erdoğan himself commented at a press conference that even though he did not rule out softening the country’s stance on cryptocurrencies, he did not actually intend to promote their adoption.
These comments are quite in line with the stance of the Central Bank of Turkey, which announced a measure to ban the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for the purchase of goods in April this year. The text of the ban was clear and even warned of irrevocable damages for those who decided to risk using cryptocurrencies:
“Payment service providers will not be able to develop business models in a way that crypto assets are used directly or indirectly in the provision of payment services and electronic money issuance.”
However, the flip side of the coin shows an economic reality that could justify the Turkish government’s stache change. The country’s fiat currency has suffered one of the worst devaluations in its history, and despite the government’s efforts to promote the use of the lira and restrict the adoption of the dollar and the use of cryptocurrencies as a proxy for the U.S. fiat currency, Turks continue to exchange their liras into crypto more and more frequently every day.
And considering that diplomatic relations with the U.S. are not at their best, using a decentralized alternative to improve the economy might not be such a “surprising” idea after all.
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Crypto Trading Volume in Turkey Surges as Local Currency Plunges
The million trades per day milestone was recorded by blockchain analysis firms Chainalysis and Kaiko. Rampant inflation and a currency devaluing by nearly 40% since September have resulted in citizens flocking to crypto assets to preserve their dwindling savings.
According to Reuters, the surge in trading began earlier in the year when the central bank chief was replaced, triggering the first Lira slump.
Turks Turn to Crypto
Turks have been increasingly converting Lira into USD or gold as the currency has lost 90% of its value since 2008. Decentralized crypto-asset have now become another option to protect people against economic turmoil. Bitcoin and Tether have been the most popular trades against the Lira for the past three years.
At the time of writing, $1 was worth 12.37 Lira, at the beginning of the year, it was worth 7.37 Lira. The currency crashed to 18 Lira to the dollar on Dec. 20.
According to CoinMarketCap, more than 16% of the world’s crypto users came from Turkey, which occupied the fourth position for the most number of users.
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Crypto in Turkey 🇹🇷 Is It A Nightmare😳
Over 16% of the world’s crypto users came from Turkey.
Turkey occupied the fourth position for the most number of users. 😳 https://t.co/EqWpYHrJhj pic.twitter.com/8Op46uwsaz
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) December 21, 2021
However, a number of Turkish crypto traders replied that the video was misleading as crypto trading is not banned in the country, exchanges are still in operation, and it is easy to cash out.
Reuters reported that the central bank banned crypto for payments back in April. In September, Turkey’s deputy finance minister said that regulations on the asset class would be introduced.
Doubtful Rescue Package
On Dec. 21, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a rescue plan to encourage Turks to put their money back into the failing currency. This has resulted in a slight strengthening of the Lira, but it has still lost half of its value against the greenback since the beginning of the year.
The government stated that it would guarantee returns on Lira deposits at similar rates to those on foreign currencies. Turks would need to deposit Lira in fixed accounts with a minimum interest rate, but the state would make up any differences it lost against the dollar.
The government did not specify how it would pay for the incentive, and economists suggested that the central bank would continue printing money.
Total crypto market capitalization has gained 4.7% over the past 24 hours, reaching $2.4 trillion, and it is likely that Turkish trading may have had some influence on the uptick.
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Turkey Witnesses Resurgence in Crypto Trades Above 1M per day
Turkey is witnessing a resurgence in cryptocurrency trades of above one million per day due to a continuous devaluation of the country’s currency, Reuters reported.
Turks have begun to see a safe haven in crypto to avoid the effects of soaring inflation as worries about the country’s economic policy have seen the lira slump nearly 40% since September.
According to the data from blockchain analysis firms Chainalysis and Kaiko, the one million-a-day threshold was first seen to have surpassed earlier in 2021 when the sudden replacement of Turkey’s central bank chief in March triggered the lira’s first major slump of the year.
The lira has lost 90% of its value since 2008, which has made Turks convert the currency into US dollars or gold more commonly. But, since the rise in the price of cryptocurrencies this year, trading in crypto has had a surge in popularity.
Data from Chainalysis and Kaiko, among all the available cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Tether have been the most popular for lira trades since 2019.
However, Turkish authorities have been keeping a close eye on the rise in crypto trading.
In September, Turkey’s deputy finance minister said that regulations on the emerging asset class would be introduced, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, crypto as legal tender for traditional purchases has been banned by the country’s central bank since April 2021, citing “irreparable” damage and transaction risks. Turkey’s administration is developing its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) with private company.
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