A cryptocurrency is a digital, cryptographically secured asset recorded on a decentralized ledger (blockchain), allowing value to be held and transferred peer-to-peer without a bank or central authority. Bitcoin and Ether are the best-known examples.
Legally, cryptocurrencies sit at the intersection of payments, securities, tax and anti-money-laundering rules, and their treatment varies by jurisdiction. In Türkiye, crypto-assets are regulated under the Capital Markets Law framework — notably the 2024 amendments and CASP licensing via the Capital Markets Board — and their use as a means of payment is restricted.
How the law characterises cryptocurrency — and the Turkish position
There is no single legal definition of “cryptocurrency”; its treatment depends on what it does and the jurisdiction asking. The same asset may be treated as property for tax, a commodity or a security for regulation, and rarely as legal-tender money. This characterisation drives everything that follows — licensing, disclosure, custody and tax. Türkiye’s position is distinctive: a 2021 regulation prohibits the use of crypto-assets as a means of payment, while the 2024 amendments to the Capital Markets Law brought crypto-asset service providers under Capital Markets Board licensing and oversight. Anti-money-laundering duties under MASAK apply across the board. Anyone building with crypto in Türkiye should start from how the specific token and activity are classified, because the obligations flow from that.
The Turkish regulatory map
Türkiye’s crypto framework consolidated with Law No. 7518 (2024), which wrote crypto-asset service providers into the Capital Markets Law: SPK licensing for platforms and custodians, capital and governance requirements, listing standards, and customer-asset segregation duties — with MASAK AML obligations (KYC, suspicious-transaction reporting, travel-rule mechanics) running in parallel. Two standing rules shape products: the 2021 TCMB regulation barring crypto as a payment instrument, and the banking channel’s conservatism toward crypto-business accounts. Tax remains the open file — no dedicated regime yet, so characterisation follows general principles and professional advice. For founders, the practical takeaway: platform-touching models need the licence path planned from day one, while pure software plays should document carefully why they fall outside the service-provider perimeter.
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