Crypto asset secondary regulations have come into effect

Secondary regulations regarding the regulation of crypto assets were published in the Official Gazette last night, following the regulations enacted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in July 2024. In the eagerly awaited secondary regulations, cryptocurrency exchanges are referred to as crypto asset providers both in the law and in the communiqué, facing brand new regulations.

In the published notification, the minimum capital requirement for crypto asset providers was set at 150 million TL, while for crypto asset custody companies, it was set at 500 million TL.

According to the regulation published in the Official Gazette, platforms will not be able to directly hold customer cash. Customer funds will only be kept in accounts opened with banks and these accounts will be tracked separately from the platforms' own accounts.

A committee will be established for the listing

Under the new regulations, crypto asset providers will be required to carry out their listing processes in accordance with the specified principles. In this respect, it has become mandatory for each platform to establish a listing committee consisting of at least three members. Committee members are required to have a minimum of seven years of experience in areas such as finance, law, information security, information technology, and distributed ledger technologies.

Among the criteria that must be met for the listing of crypto assets are the following:

• The underlying asset has not been prohibited or restricted by any official authority for issuance or trading.
• The structure does not allow transfer transactions by hiding wallet addresses.
• Can be stored in cold wallets.
• The project owner has not been involved in illegal activities such as money laundering of proceeds from crime or financing of terrorism, and is not listed on national or international banned lists.

The ban on leveraged transactions has been clarified

In line with the amendments made in the Capital Markets Law, foreign crypto asset providers without a physical office in Turkey were previously restricted from providing Turkish language support and advertising. Leveraged transactions, which are of great interest to investors in Turkey, had also been indirectly banned.

With the newly published regulation, this ban has been clarified: "Crypto assets listed on platforms cannot be traded with leverage. Similarly, they cannot be subject to derivative instrument contracts and margin trades."

Misleading advertisements are prohibited

As part of the notification, the rules that crypto asset providers must adhere to in their advertisements have also been announced. Some of these rules are as follows:

• Statements implying that customers will always make a profit or will not incur any losses in any way will not be used.
• Certain professional groups or various segments of the society, such as university students, housewives, etc., cannot be targeted and claimed to provide extra income (.

On the other hand, crypto asset providers are required to undergo independent audits every year. Audit reports must be approved by the chief auditor and presented to the management boards of the relevant organizations, and must be submitted to the Board within the specified period.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendation. Every investment and trading activity involves risks, and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.