Cryptocurrency in Turkey: regulation, taxes and licences
In short. Turks buy and hold crypto in enormous numbers, and nothing stops them. What the state forbids is paying with it: since April 2021 the central bank has ruled crypto out of payments, directly or indirectly. Trading moved under the Capital Markets Board in 2024, and a licensed platform now needs 150 million lira of capital. Tax is the surprise. Turkey still has no crypto tax at all.
- PAYING WITH CRYPTO
- Prohibitedcentral bank rule, since April 2021
- HOLDING AND TRADING
- Allowedno ban on ownership
- CRYPTO TAX
- Noneno dedicated regime as of August 2026
- PLATFORM CAPITAL
- 150 m liraminimum, set by the CMB
- LICENSING
- Capital Markets Boardsince Law 7518 of 2024
- PROPOSED 10% TAX
- Withdrawnpulled from parliament in March 2026
Two regulators, two different answers
Newcomers trip over the split: you may own crypto without limit, and you may not spend it.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye handles the second half. Its rule, published in the Official Gazette on 16 April 2021 under number 31456, states that crypto assets shall not be used directly or indirectly in payments. Payment providers may not build business models around them, and payment and electronic money institutions may not act as the pipe between a customer and a crypto platform.
The Capital Markets Board took the first half in 2024. Parliament passed Law 7518, which inserted crypto asset service providers into the Capital Markets Law of 2012, and the board then wrote the detail.
How far the payment ban reaches
The 2021 rule defines a crypto asset as an intangible asset created on a distributed ledger and passed around digital networks, standing outside fiat money, deposit money, electronic money, payment instruments and securities.
The prohibition stops where spending stops. You may buy bitcoin, hold it for a decade and sell it. A merchant may not accept it for a coffee, and a payment company may not build a service that lets them. Turks kept buying anyway, which is why the country keeps appearing near the top of global adoption rankings.
Licensing since 2025
The board published its rules for crypto platforms in the Official Gazette on 13 March 2025, in a communiqué numbered III-35/B.1.
It governs who may found a platform, who may manage one, how shares change hands, what the information systems must do, which activities stay off limits, and how the board suspends or ends an operation. A second communiqué sets the money. A platform starts with at least 150 million lira of initial capital, and custody institutions face their own floor. Transfers under one million lira may clear through a fully automated process, which puts a manual check on everything above.
Turkey still has no crypto tax
Ankara has spent two years circling this and has yet to land.
In March 2026 the ruling party put forward a 10% withholding tax on gains made through licensed platforms, collected quarterly by the platform itself, with a presidential dial allowing anything from zero to 20%. Service providers would have paid a separate levy of 0.03% on the transactions they handled. Anyone trading through foreign venues would have declared gains once a year.
On 26 March 2026, after talks between the ruling party and the opposition, the crypto articles came out of the omnibus bill. The government said it wanted to weigh the technical and economic effect again.
Today the tax code says nothing about crypto in either direction. General income tax rules still reach you when your trading reads as a business, and the tax office judges that on volume and frequency, since no threshold exists that was written for crypto.
What this means if you are moving there
You get a large, liquid market with licensed venues behind it, and for now nothing to pay on your gains.
Two cautions balance that. Nobody granted an exemption here, the legislators have not written the rule yet, and in March they showed how fast they can draft one. The payment ban has also held for five years without loosening, so plan on converting to lira for anything you intend to spend.
Allowed
- Buy, hold and sell crypto without a dedicated tax on the gain
- Trade through platforms licensed by the Capital Markets Board
- Move crypto between your own wallets
- Mine, with the resulting income assessed under general tax rules
Restricted
- Paying for goods or services in crypto, prohibited since April 2021
- Payment and electronic money institutions serving crypto platforms
- Running a platform without a Capital Markets Board licence
- Trading at a scale that reads as a business, which brings general income tax
How the rules took shape
The central bank publishes rule 31456: crypto assets shall not be used in payments, directly or indirectly.
Parliament passes Law 7518, putting crypto asset service providers under the Capital Markets Law.
The Capital Markets Board publishes communiqué III-35/B.1 with the rules for founding and running a platform.
The ruling party proposes a 10% tax on gains, then withdraws the crypto articles from the bill on 26 March.
Worth knowing
Between 16 and 25% of the population holds crypto — twice the European and US average. The reason is plain: the lira lost 44% against the dollar in 2021, and exchanges became a hedge against inflation.
Common questions
Is crypto legal in Turkey?
Owning and trading it, yes. Paying with it, no. The central bank ruled crypto out of payments in April 2021, and that rule covers both merchants and the payment companies that would serve them.
Do I pay tax on crypto profit?
No crypto-specific tax exists as of August 2026. General income tax rules can still apply if your activity looks like a business, judged on volume and frequency.
What happened to the 10% tax?
The ruling party proposed it in March 2026 and pulled the crypto articles from the bill on 26 March, saying it wanted to reassess the effect. Nothing was enacted.
Which platforms may operate?
Those licensed by the Capital Markets Board under the 2025 rules. A platform needs at least 150 million lira of initial capital.
Can my Turkish bank send money to an exchange?
Payment and electronic money institutions may not intermediate those transfers under the 2021 rule. Licensed platforms work within the system the board built for them.
Sources
Related reading
Other countries
Updated 20.08.2026 · this is reference material, not investment or tax advice