Turkey’s central bank foreshadows crypto regulations, denying a total ban

The head of Turkey’s central bank has announced that a wide range of crypto regulations would be coming in the next two weeks and dismissed the idea of a total ban.

On a state-run channel, governor Şahap Kavacıoğlu said, “You cannot fix anything by banning crypto and we do not intend to do this.” His comments came less than a week before a planned ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for payments was set to begin.”

The rapid depreciation of the Turkish lira has caused the use of crypto in the country to skyrocket in recent months. The announcement of the proposed ban drew much ire from the government’s political opponents, which may have had a hand in the government’s decision to rethink their approach.

Without giving much detail about the coming regulations, Kavacıoğlu said they would clarify the legal definition of cryptocurrencies and regulate how they should be stored by institutions. Trade Moneta reported that the central bank chief indicated regulations are needed to address the “alarming” amount of funds leaving the country via crypto.