Turkey is preparing a law to freeze crypto accounts to strengthen the fight against money laundering.
Date: 2025-09-30 Author: Henry Casey Categories: IN WORLD
The Turkish government is working on a bill that would allow Masak, the country's anti-financial crime agency, to freeze crypto accounts and block suspicious wallets. According to Bloomberg, the new measures will also apply to bank accounts and payment services if signs of illegal activity are detected.
The main goal of the initiative is to prevent the use of so-called "rented accounts." These accounts are purchased by criminals from individuals and used for money laundering, gambling, and fraud. The bill is intended to bring Turkish legislation into compliance with the recommendations of the FATF, an international organization that develops anti-money laundering standards. According to the draft, Masak will have the authority to block transactions, blacklist crypto wallets, and monitor companies providing e-money services and crypto exchanges. This will bring much of the country's digital finance infrastructure under its control.
Furthermore, the new rules will affect user transactions on crypto platforms. In June 2025, the Ministry of Finance proposed requiring all transaction descriptions to be at least 20 characters long. Withdrawal delays will also be introduced: 48 hours for most transactions and 72 hours for the first withdrawal from a new account.
Special attention will be paid to stablecoins. They are planned to have a daily transfer limit of $3,000 and a monthly limit of $50,000. However, companies that fully comply with the Travel Rule and collect data on transaction recipients and senders will be able to offer users twice the limits.
It's worth noting that Turkish authorities are already demonstrating a strict approach to regulating the crypto market. For example, in July 2025, access to several services, including PancakeSwap, was restricted for providing "unauthorized" services.
The adoption of the new law will strengthen state oversight of digital assets and will be part of Turkey's overall strategy to increase transparency in the financial system and combat illegal transactions.
