Coinbase withdraws application to enter Turkish market

The list of companies requesting liquidation was updated by the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK) on November 29th. According to the update, Coinbase withdrew its pre-application, filed in August, and requested liquidation.

Compliance list updates resulted in the removal of 64 companies from the list, with 29 cryptocurrency firms being officially recognised by the SPK.

Firms that seek to exit Türkiye’s crypto market

QNB Digital Assets also filed for liquidation, along with Finceptor, Koinim, Stanfex, XYZ Teknoloji and other digital assets service providers, announcing the closure of their operations in the Turkish market.

According to the updates on the active entities list, Yapi Kredi Bank, the fourth-largest private bank in Turkey, has applied as a cryptocurrency custodian. In this context, Yapi Kredi, Takasbank, BtcTurk’s subsidiary and Eliptik Digital Custody Management applied to provide custody services.

These recent updates reveal that a total number of 14 companies are seeking liquidation out of the 77 applicants.

Türkiye’s new crypto law

The SPK introduced several measures aimed at regulating the crypto market. Firstly, licencing and establishment requirements state that all cryptocurrency exchanges in Türkiye must obtain a licence to ensure they meet specific criteria, such as minimum capital thresholds and technical infrastructure standards.

Tax obligations have also been introduced, with the requirement that individuals and firms working with cryptocurrency report their earnings and comply with tax obligations.

New rules state that exchanges must hold a certain percentage of their assets in reserve to reduce the risk of insolvency. Additionally, it is mandatory that exchanges implement robust security measures to protect user data.

User restrictions that could limit the everyday utility of digital currencies for customers are also implemented, aligning the country with global trends toward regulating crypto as an investment.

These new requirements mandate that businesses in the cryptocurrency sector must adapt quickly or risk being shut down. Smaller firms are at risk of failing to meet the new standards, leading to a consolidation in the market as larger companies dominate.