Turkish central bank bans cryptocurrency payments

The Turkish central bank announced a ban on crypto payments for goods and services. The measure will take effect on 30 April.

“Payment service providers are not allowed to develop business models in which crypto assets are used directly or indirectly in payments or the issuance of electronic money,” says the central bank’s decision, published in the official gazette T.C. Resmî Gazete.

Among the reasons for the decision, according to local journalist Ragıp Soylu, the agency cited lack of regulation and a central governing body, volatility, use in illicit activities, and the risk of theft.

Turkey’s reasoning to ban cryptocurrencies in payments/shoppings:

• They aren’t regulated
• There isn’t any central interlocutor
• Their market prices have high mobility
• They could be used in illegal activities due to their anonymity
• Digital wallets could be stolen

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) April 16, 2021

The ban does not yet apply to trading on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bitcoin has long enjoyed popularity in Turkey against the backdrop of the lira’s prolonged devaluation. In March this year the price of the first cryptocurrency on the local P2P market exceeded $100,000, when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fired the third head of the central bank in the past two years.

ForkLog has previously reported in detail on the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Turkey as far back as 2018, when the country faced a currency and debt crisis.

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