The Turkish government is ready to “open up” with cryptocurrencies

A senior Turkish government minister said he no longer had “negative feelings” for cryptocurrencies and that regulations aimed at fraud are in place.

Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology, Mustafa Varank, said today in an interview with local media Bloomberg HT that the government will soon introduce regulations on cryptocurrencies. Times added:

“I no longer feel negative about cryptocurrencies. Now I understand that they work. However, cryptocurrencies are ripe for scams. We wouldn’t offer such high-risk free support. ”

Varank’s remarks follow President Erdoğan’s statement on Friday that the government is currently working on a plan to lay the economic and legal foundation for cryptocurrencies.

Mehmet Türkarslan, legal advisor at Turkish crypto exchange Paribu, told Decrypt that the industry is aware that new traders are beginning to be deceived by bogus financial advisers, those who promise high returns from crypto investments. Mr. Türkarslan told Decrypt:

“These so-called advisers initially helped their unintentional clients achieve high profits, and after gaining their trust, these scammers worried and reminded the victim. They are allowed access to cryptocurrency exchange accounts. ”

The scammers told victims they could make even more profits if they were allowed direct access via TeamViewer, a remote desktop software, to their crypto exchange account. surname. Once in, they transfer the money to their own account and simply disappear, Türkarslan explained.

Beste Naz Süllü, Research Director at crypto exchange ICRYPEX, told Decrypt:

“Fraud is a real concern in the Turkish cryptocurrency market as well as elsewhere in the world. The minister’s managerial ambitions to combat that are seen positively across the industry. ”

But there’s no indication that the regulatory steps – or indeed, can be taken – to prevent fraud. Türkarslan said:

“This is a difficult issue because clients provide full access and clear consent to these advisors.”

Mr. Alper Akalın, the co-founder of Turkey’s opposition party, DEVA, told Decrypt:

“There is support from many parties for cryptocurrency regulations aimed at fraud, but perhaps that is just a curtain on the government’s desire to increase tax revenue due to their financial troubles.”

“As more and more Turks move from investing in conventional assets to cryptocurrencies, Turkish officials are concerned about the loss of a significant amount of tax income.”

Mr. Türkarslan added:

“The recent institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, especially Elon Musk, is a wake-up call for the Turkish government. That might explain why the minister said he changed his mind. ”

Turkish government officials are known to keep a close eye on Musk. Turkish President Erdoğan first met him in 2017 to discuss car production. The last time they spoke in January was reported about space exploration, but there are no reports of any crypto talk … from now on, things are likely to be different.

CHK aggregated

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