The Turkish Ministry of Finance will introduce new restrictions to combat the laundering of criminal proceeds through cryptocurrencies.
In particular, the government is introducing limits on crypto operations.
In addition, crypto platforms will be required to verify the source of clients' funds.
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance of Turkey is preparing to implement new steps to prevent money laundering obtained from illegal activities (AML) — particularly from betting and fraudulent schemes — through cryptocurrency operations.
According to him, the government plans to strengthen control over operations carried out by cryptocurrency service providers.
In particular, platforms are required to obtain information about the origin of funds and the purpose of transfers. Each cryptocurrency transfer transaction must be accompanied by a description of the operation of at least 20 characters.
To limit the abuse of cryptocurrency withdrawals that do not fall under the Travel Rule (regarding the exchange of identification information about the sender and receiver), temporary restrictions are introduced:
at least 48 hours after the purchase, exchange, or deposit of assets;
for the first withdrawal from the wallet — no earlier than 72 hours.
To prevent the rapid withdrawal of suspicious funds, restrictions on stablecoin transfers are established, namely:
daily limit: $3000;
monthly limit: $50,000.
However, companies that fully comply with the Travel Rule requirements (including the transmission of the name, surname, address, place, and date of birth of both parties) will be able to double these limits.
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek stated that the aim of these measures is to protect the financial system without limiting legitimate activities in the cryptocurrency sphere.
"We do not set obstacles for users engaged in liquidity, arbitrage, or acting as market makers, provided the source of funds is transparent. Such transactions will be allowed without restrictions, but under the platform's control," he said.
The minister also reminded that crypto platforms that do not comply with the new requirements may face administrative, financial, or even legal sanctions, including license revocation.
