Turkey Tightens Crypto Regulations to Curb Money Laundering

While the illicit use of cryptocurrency is growing enormously, Turkey is planning to introduce stringent regulations in the country, aimed at curbing money laundering and enhancing financial oversight on crypto users. 

Prepared by The Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the regulations mandate a minimum 20-character transfer note for all crypto transactions and a 72-hour withdrawal delay for non-compliant platforms. Moreover, the new rule also restricts stablecoin transactions to limits of $3,000 daily and $50,000 monthly—as per the official release . 

With the new regulations unveiling, The Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance, led by Mehmet Şimşek, emphasized the initiative as balancing legitimate activity with anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement. Though secondary regulatory clarity still remains pending. 

Turkey’s move comes as its national currency lira has depreciated by 20.18% over the past year. Although this fall back fueled crypto adoption across the country, the new restrictions may slow trading and raise compliance costs. 

While the 72-hour delay on withdrawals and a little stablecoin cap could deter short-term speculative trading, fully compliant platforms might continue to attract institutional inflows, bolstered by growing investor confidence following U.S. Bitcoin ETF approvals in 2024, per Anadolu Ajansı.