The most famous and on-demand type of Cryptocurrency is "Bitcoin" and it was first introduced late 2008.
Cryptocurrency has firstly entered Turkey in 2009 and has caught the attention of many investors and entrepreneurs almost immediately. The rapid growth of the practice and exploration of the usage of Cryptocurrency in Turkey has been noticeable especially since 2013 when certain Turkish regulation authorities and supervision agencies announced the recognition of it.
Fundamentally, Law no. 6439 on Payment Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions (2013) regulates the procedures principles regarding payment and securities, settlement systems, payment services, payment institutions, and electronic money institutions.
Issuance of electronic money is established under Section 5 Article 20 in the Law no. 6439 on Payment Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services, and Electronic Money Institutions. Article 20 sections 1, 2 and 3 define electronic money as one that is exchanged with assets (such as gold, banknotes etc.) and stipulates that transactions with electronic money are completely lawful. Although Cryptocurrencies are not specified under this law, there is no restriction on the usage of Cryptocurrencies either. Therefore, it is possible that Cryptocurrencies could fall within the scope of this law if it meets the criteria which are construed by the Law no. 6439. Nonetheless, Cryptocurrencies by their nature do not meet the criteria of the characteristics of electronic money at the law's current position in the Republic of Turkey.
