Ankara is preparing a law that will grant the regulatory agency the authority to block cryptocurrency accounts to combat money laundering.
The Turkish government is working on new legislation that would give the country’s financial crimes supervisory agency, known as Masak, the power to freeze accounts linked to digital assets. The initiative represents a step in the fight against money laundering and illicit financial activities.
According to Bloomberg, the proposed legislative changes would expand Masak’s anti-money laundering mandate, allowing it to block both traditional bank accounts and digital wallets. The new provisions are designed to comply with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the intergovernmental organization that sets global standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
What the new bill entails
The bill is expected to be submitted to the Grand National Assembly, although no specific timeline has been announced.
If approved, Masak would gain the authority to freeze or close accounts suspected of illicit use across various platforms: payment systems, electronic money institutions, banks, and cryptocurrency exchanges. The agency would also have the power to impose transaction limits or blacklist wallets associated with criminal activities.
A central goal of the legislation is to counter the spread of so-called “rented accounts”—profiles that criminals use by paying private citizens to carry out activities such as illegal gambling or financial fraud.
Additionally, the Ministry of Finance is preparing new rules that will require exchanges to collect detailed information on the origin and purpose of transactions, as well as introduce restrictions on stablecoin transfers.
Growing adoption despite restrictions
The adoption of digital assets in Turkey is steadily increasing, supported by the development of centralized retail platforms and the presence of institutional services dedicated to digital assets in the country, according to the Global Crypto Adoption Index by Chainalysis published in September.
One of the main factors driving this adoption has been the sharp depreciation of the Turkish lira, which has been in constant decline since 2018 due to a prolonged economic and financial crisis characterized by high inflation, rising funding costs, and loan defaults.
With the erosion of the lira’s value, many Turkish citizens have turned to dollar-pegged stablecoins and Bitcoin as alternatives to preserve their purchasing power.
