Turkish law firm challenges crypto payment ban in landmark case

Turkish law firm GlobalB plans to file a legal case against the current ban on cryptocurrency payments that Turkey scheduled for May 28 in Ankara. The firm, led by founding partner Sima Baktaş, is planning to present the potential economic benefits of cryptographic and blockchain-based transactions.

Although cryptocurrency ownership, trading, and even mining are legal in Turkey, their use in payments has been banned since 2021. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey also forbade payment services and the issuance of electronic money due to the associated risks to stability and security.

Baktaş said that allowing crypto payments would foster the financial sector’s development, make payments more effective, and increase Turkey’s attractiveness for blockchain businesses. The firm intends to use the benefits to counter the existing restrictions in court.

Baktaş believes that such a lawsuit can have implications for the regulatory policies to work out the relation between innovation and compliance. A favourable judgement could lead to the development of better secondary laws and the opening up of new licensing opportunities for cryptocurrency businesses.

“If the court rules in favor of lifting the ban, it could establish a more secure and dynamic environment for companies to operate while accelerating the digital economy’s growth,” Baktaş stated.

Cryptocurrency has gradually become popular in Turkey. A survey conducted in 2021 indicated a user increase of 11 times, as another survey conducted in 2023 revealed that overall cryptocurrency usage has increased by 12%. Currently, 19.3% of Turkey’s population is actively using cryptocurrencies.

Banks in Turkey have also gradually started integrating the implementation involving cryptocurrencies. Various banks, including BankPozitif and Misyon Bank, have already incorporated digital asset services with help from the Swiss-based Taurus platform. This brings about the growth in the acceptance of cryptocurrencies into the banking system.

Turkey’s regulatory developments

Turkey has taken a series of measures towards the regulation of cryptocurrency with new laws in terms of increasing transparency and security. The new measures provide legal regulation while responding to the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In December 2024, Turkey announced new  Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations for virtual currency transactions. These regulations state that any transaction of 15,000 Turkish lira ($425) or more must specify the users behind it. The Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey shared the rules, which aim at preventing unlawful use of virtual assets.

The measures are in line with international best practices, such as the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) rules, which came into force on 30 December 2024. Through stricter supervision, Turkey is seeking to be removed from the FATF list of countries with insufficient AML measures, labelled as the “gray list”.

However, there is no legal ban on people from buying, holding, and trading cryptocurrencies or engaging in operations with them in Turkey. Notably, the use of digital assets for payments has been prohibited since the beginning of 2021.

Turkey’s crypto service providers are now subjected to higher standards and obligations to collect and report transaction data in excess of the threshold set. However, certain limitations apply to small purchases.

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