According to Bloomberg, Turkey is close to presenting draught legislation to regulate the Bitcoin market, particularly businesses involved in the sector that operate in the country.
Two Turkish officials familiar with the situation told the news outlet that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party is planning to introduce bills in parliament containing the new rules in the coming weeks. The bill is expected to include provisions for businesses that provide cryptocurrency services to the public, such as exchanges.
Among the proposals is a requirement that companies have a minimum capital of 100 million liras ($6 million), Bloomberg reported. According to the officials, another rule would require global cryptocurrency platforms to open branch offices that could be taxed in Turkey.
The announcement comes after a year of scandals involving cryptocurrency businesses in the country.
Faruk Fatih Ozer, the CEO of local cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, fled the country in April 2021, leaving approximately 390,000 active users’ funds unrecoverable. Bedirhan Oguz Basibuyuk, Thodex’s lawyer at the time, stated that the CEO fled Turkey because he would have been “arrested or committed suicide” otherwise. The lawyer cited liquidity issues as well as a years-old hacking incident as reasons for the apparent exit scam.
As part of its investigation into the Thodex case, a Turkish court imprisoned six suspects later that month. Ozer’s brother and sister, as well as senior company employees, were among the suspects.
Last month, Turkish authorities allegedly arrested four people linked to another cryptocurrency exchange, Vebitcoin, as part of a fraud investigation.
Following the problems with those two companies, the Turkish government is said to have begun looking into the possibility of establishing a central custodian bank for cryptocurrency exchanges. It also banned cryptocurrency payments in the same month that its own fiat currency plummeted.
Turkey is currently facing severe inflationary pressures as President Erdogan refuses to raise interest rates. According to the most recent data, the country’s population increased by 35% in healthcare, 27% in education, 26% in clothing and footwear, and 18.71% in communication.
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