Central Bank of Turkey Crypto Restrictions: What You Can and Can't Do in 2025

If you live in Turkey and use cryptocurrency, you’ve probably noticed something strange: you can buy Bitcoin, sell Ethereum, and hold altcoins all you want - but you can’t use them to pay for your groceries, rent an apartment, or buy a car. That’s not a glitch. It’s the law. As of 2025, the Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) still enforces a strict ban on using cryptocurrencies for payments, even though trading them is completely legal.

Why Can’t You Pay With Crypto in Turkey?

The CBRT’s stance isn’t about banning crypto outright. It’s about protecting the Turkish Lira. Since 2021, the bank has made it clear: only the Turkish Lira is legal tender. That means any business, landlord, or service provider who accepts Bitcoin, Dogecoin, or any other crypto directly for goods or services is breaking the law. This rule applies to everything - from online marketplaces to real estate deals. Even if you and the seller both agree to use crypto, the transaction is invalid under Turkish financial law.

This restriction was introduced during a time of high inflation and currency instability. Many Turks turned to crypto not as a speculative investment, but as a way to protect their savings. The CBRT saw this as a threat to monetary control. If people started paying for everything in Bitcoin, the Lira could lose even more relevance. So instead of trying to stop crypto adoption, they decided to control it: let people trade, but don’t let it become money.

Who Regulates Crypto in Turkey?

The CBRT doesn’t handle crypto regulation alone. That job falls to the Capital Markets Board (CMB), Turkey’s securities regulator. In March 2025, the CMB released four new communiqués that reshaped the entire crypto landscape. These weren’t just updates - they were a full overhaul. The rules came into effect in phases, with full compliance required by June 30, 2025.

Under the new rules, any company offering crypto services - exchanges, wallets, custodians - must get licensed by the CMB. They can’t just set up shop and start taking deposits. They need to be registered as joint-stock companies, with shares issued in cash and held in the names of actual owners. No anonymous shell companies allowed.

The capital requirements are steep. Crypto exchanges must have at least 150 million Turkish Lira (about $4.1 million) in capital. Custodians - companies that hold crypto on behalf of users - need 500 million Turkish Lira (around $13.7 million). These aren’t arbitrary numbers. They’re meant to ensure these firms can survive market crashes and cover losses if something goes wrong.

What Happens If You Break the Rules?

The CMB isn’t just writing rules - it’s enforcing them. In 2024, Binance TR, the local arm of the world’s biggest exchange, was hit with the maximum fine allowed under Turkish law: 8 million Turkish Lira (roughly $750,000 at the time). Why? Because their anti-money laundering systems failed. They didn’t properly verify users, didn’t track suspicious transactions, and didn’t report high-value transfers.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) - Turkey’s equivalent of the FBI’s financial crimes unit - now has the power to freeze both bank accounts and crypto wallets. They’re also cracking down on rented accounts, where people use someone else’s identity to bypass KYC checks. These are serious measures, and they’re being used.

If you’re running a crypto business in Turkey, you’re expected to have a full compliance team. You need identity verification systems that flag transactions over 15,000 Turkish Lira (about $425). You need to keep records of every trade, even canceled ones. You need automated tools to detect unusual patterns - like someone buying $100,000 worth of crypto in 10 minutes and then sending it all to an overseas wallet.

What Can You Actually Do With Crypto in Turkey?

You can buy it. You can sell it. You can hold it. You can even trade it for other crypto assets. You can use it as an investment. That’s all legal. In fact, Turkey has one of the highest crypto adoption rates in the world. According to Chainalysis, Turkish users ranked in the top 5 globally for peer-to-peer crypto trading in 2024.

Why? Because inflation has eaten away at the Lira’s value. People aren’t using crypto to pay for coffee - they’re using it to store value. A 2025 survey by a Turkish fintech firm showed that 68% of crypto owners in Turkey bought it to protect savings, not to speculate. The payment ban didn’t stop adoption. It just redirected it.

You can also invest in initial coin offerings (ICOs), as long as the platform listing them has CMB approval. But derivatives - like crypto futures or options - are banned. No leveraged trading. No short-selling crypto. The CMB wants to keep things simple and reduce risk for retail investors.

What About Foreign Exchanges?

You can still use Binance, Kraken, or Coinbase from Turkey. But if you’re a foreign exchange and you want to actively market to Turkish users, you’re out of luck. The CMB blocks foreign platforms from running ads in Turkish, setting up local offices, or offering Turkish Lira deposits directly. That’s why you see so many Turkish users on foreign exchanges - they’re not breaking the rules, but they’re operating in a gray zone.

Banks in Turkey are required to report any foreign exchange conversion over $50,000. So if you’re moving large sums out of your Lira account to buy crypto on a foreign exchange, your bank might flag it. It’s not illegal, but it’s monitored.

Is the Ban Going to Change?

Not anytime soon. As of September 2025, the CBRT has made no indication that it plans to lift the payment ban. In fact, they’re doubling down on their own digital currency: the Digital Lira. This isn’t Bitcoin or Ethereum. It’s a central bank digital currency (CBDC) - a digital version of the Turkish Lira, issued and controlled by the CBRT. The goal? To give people the convenience of digital payments without giving up monetary control.

The Digital Lira project is still in testing, but it’s the clearest sign that Turkey’s long-term strategy isn’t to fight crypto - it’s to replace it with something the state can manage. Think of it like this: the CBRT doesn’t want you using Bitcoin to pay for your rent. But they’re fine if you use a digital Lira app to send money to your landlord.

What’s Next for Crypto in Turkey?

The real growth area isn’t trading - it’s tokenization. The CMB is already working on rules for turning real-world assets - like real estate, gold, and even art - into digital tokens on blockchain networks. This isn’t crypto speculation. It’s about making traditional investments more liquid and accessible.

Imagine owning 1% of a building in Istanbul, not by buying a deed, but by holding a digital token. The value is tied to the property, but you can trade it instantly on a regulated platform. That’s the future Turkey is building - one where blockchain technology is used, but under strict state oversight.

For now, the message is clear: crypto is allowed as an asset, not as money. If you want to use it as money, you’ll need to convert it back to Lira first. That’s the rule. And as of 2025, it’s still working - for the bank, for the regulators, and for the millions of Turks who use crypto to protect their wealth.