Regulation on the Use of Crypto Assets for Payments

With “Regulation on the Use of Crypto Assets for Payments” issued by Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and published in the Official Gazette dated April 16, 2021, numbered 31456, for the first time in our country, a regulation on “Crypto Assets” has come into force. As stated in the Article 1 of the Regulation it is aimed as follows:

“determination of the principles and procedures regarding not using crypto assets in payments, not using crypto assets directly or indirectly in the provision of payment services and electronic money issuance and payment and electronic money organizations not acting as a broker for platforms that offer trading, custody, transfer or issuance services in respect of crypto assets or fund transfers from the said platforms”

In Article 3 of the Regulation titled “Not to Use Crypto Assets for Payments“, digital assets ​​that are commonly known as cryptocurrency are to be called crypto assets and

“created virtually by the use of crypto assets, distributed ledgers or a similar technology to these for its implementation and distributed over digital networks but not qualified as capital market instruments such as but fiat money, bank money, electronic money, payment instrument, securities or other intangible assets”

With the expressions and principles abovementioned, it constituted the very first definition on this subject. Pursuant to this definition, crypto assets are not acknowledged as a type of money, security or capital market instrument but apart from all these it is seen as an intangible asset and ascertained as a unique-sui generis value. Making direct or indirect payment by crypto assets or the provision of services aiming the use of crypto assets directly or indirectly are banned. Thus, the use of crypto assets as money or any other payment instrument and the services that enable crypto assets to be used as payment instruments are banned as well.

In the Article 4, developing any business model that enables the use of crypto assets directly or indirectly for the issuance of electronic money by the payment services providers or providing any service to such business model is prevented. Besides that, by the provision “payment and electronic money organizations shall not act as a broker for platforms that offer trading, custody, transfer or issuance services in respect of crypto assets or fund transfers from the said platforms.”, a limitation has been put into effect for broker activities in this regard.