Turkey’s Crypto Licensing Boom: Coinbase and KuCoin Join 76 Exchanges

The updated list of companies now includes Coinbase, KuCoin, and Gate.io, with the total number of organizations increasing from 47 to 76. Last week, the initial list featured major exchanges like Binance, Bitfinex and OKX.

This development follows Turkey's recent efforts to provide more regulatory clarity for crypto exchanges and other service providers, a move widely praised by the industry as a significant and positive step. As a result, international digital asset platforms are increasingly interested in entering the expanding Turkish market.

According to a Chainalysis report published in September 2023, Turkey led the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in cryptocurrency transaction volume, with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia ranking second and third, respectively.

In addition to the top exchanges, the updated list also includes notable names such as BingX, Nexo, and Crypto.com, as well as local exchanges like BtcTurk and Midas.

Regarding crypto regulation, the Capital Markets Board has updated its guidelines to provide the public with information about organizations that have expressed interest in obtaining licenses and plan to comply with Capital Markets Law No. 6362.

Under Turkey's new regulatory framework, crypto providers seeking to offer services in the country must adhere to key requirements, including reporting crypto seizures and cooperating with legal authorities. Regulations in various countries and jurisdictions have led some crypto exchanges to either register and gain approval or exit certain markets. For example, in response to the European Union's MiCA law, some exchanges have chosen to delist certain products to ensure compliance.