A foreign crypto exchange, wallet or custody provider cannot actively offer its services to people resident in Turkey without authorisation from the Capital Markets Board (SPK). What remains open is a narrow reverse solicitation position: a Turkish resident who comes to you entirely on their own initiative. This guide explains where that line sits, which services it can cover, and what a Turkish-law legal opinion on the point should contain.
Published 11 November 2026 · Law stated as at that date · Add Systems CPA as a preferred source on Google
No licence is available to a foreign entity, and marketing to Turkey without one is a criminal offence. A foreign crypto firm may hold accounts for Turkish residents only where the client approached it unprompted and the firm has no Turkish office, no Turkish-language site or app, and no Turkey-directed promotion. Cards and crypto-funded payments are prohibited in every case.
Key facts: foreign crypto firms and Turkish residents
| Question | Position under Turkish law | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Who regulates crypto-asset service providers? | The Capital Markets Board of Turkey (Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu, SPK) | Capital Markets Law No. 6362, as amended by Law No. 7518 (Official Gazette 2 July 2024, No. 32590) |
| Can a foreign company be licensed from abroad? | No. Authorisation is given only to a joint-stock company established in Turkey | Law No. 6362 Art. 35/B; Communiqué III-35/B.1 |
| When is a foreign platform treated as targeting Turkey? | If it opens a place of business in Turkey, runs a Turkish-language website, or promotes its services directly or through persons or institutions resident in Turkey. Any one is enough | Law No. 6362 Art. 99/A(1); Communiqué III-35/B.2 Art. 9(2) |
| Is there a reverse solicitation rule? | Yes, in capital-markets law only: services a Turkish resident obtains entirely on their own initiative from a foreign provider that does no Turkey-directed promotion fall outside the Communiqué | Communiqué III-35/B.2 Art. 9(1) (Official Gazette 13 March 2025, No. 32840) |
| Sanction for unauthorised activity | Three to five years’ imprisonment and a judicial fine of 5,000 to 10,000 days; access blocking of the website | Law No. 6362 Arts. 109/A and 99/A(3) |
| Minimum capital if you do establish in Turkey (2026) | TRY 250 million for a platform; TRY 630 million for a custodian | Communiqué III-35/B.2 Art. 34, as revalued by SPK Bulletin 2025/68 |
| Crypto-linked cards and crypto payments | Prohibited. No reverse solicitation exception exists | Central Bank Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments (Official Gazette 16 April 2021, No. 31456); Laws No. 6493 and 5464 |
In one paragraph. Turkey did not ban foreign crypto platforms. It banned directing them at Turkish residents. The statute tells you what “directing” means, the SPK communiqué tells you what stays outside the regime, and the Central Bank rules sit on top of both with no exception at all. A legal opinion has to answer all three layers, service by service.
Does a foreign crypto exchange need a licence to serve users in Turkey?
A foreign crypto exchange needs SPK authorisation if its activity is directed at persons resident in Turkey. Under Article 99/A(1) of Capital Markets Law No. 6362, activity is deemed Turkey-directed where the platform opens a place of business in Turkey, creates a Turkish-language website, or promotes its services directly or through Turkish residents. Unauthorised provision is a criminal offence under Article 109/A.
Law No. 7518 brought crypto-asset service providers into Capital Markets Law No. 6362 on 2 July 2024. The perimeter is functional. A “platform” is any electronic environment where crypto-assets are bought and sold, exchanged, transferred or held in the custody those transactions require. Custody of crypto-assets or private keys is a regulated service in its own right. What the provider calls itself, and how a group splits functions between entities, does not change the classification.
Authorisation is local. The applicant must be a Turkish joint-stock company with SPK establishment and operating permission, information systems that meet TÜBİTAK criteria, and the minimum capital shown above. Where private keys are split into shares, each share and its backup must be kept in Turkey (Communiqué III-35/B.2 Art. 27(2)). A foreign entity cannot hold this authorisation and cannot passport a licence from the EU, the UK, Dubai or anywhere else.
The SPK announced on the day the law took effect that foreign providers had to end Turkey-directed activity by 2 October 2024. Since December 2024 its weekly bulletins have ordered access blocks against batches of websites, including well-known international exchanges, under Article 99/A(3).
The first thing I ask a foreign crypto firm is not “do you have Turkish clients?” but “what would a Turkish regulator see if it opened your app tonight?” A Turkish language option left over from 2022, a referral code circulating in a Turkish Telegram group, a local influencer still holding an affiliate link: each of these is a statutory targeting indicator on its own. Most firms find at least one when they look.
What is reverse solicitation under Turkish crypto law?
Reverse solicitation in Turkey is the position in Article 9(1) of SPK Communiqué III-35/B.2: where a foreign crypto-asset service provider carries out no promotion, advertising or marketing aimed at Turkish residents, accounts opened and transactions made by Turkish residents entirely on their own initiative fall outside the Communiqué. It is a scope exclusion, not a licence or a registration.
Three features decide how far it goes.
It is tested at provider level first
The condition is that the provider does not market to Turkish residents at all. One Turkey-directed campaign by any group entity, affiliate or paid intermediary removes the condition for every Turkish-resident account, not only the clients that campaign brought in.
It is then tested client by client
The wording is “entirely on their own initiative”. A firm relying on it needs evidence of how each relationship began: the inbound request, the absence of a referral or campaign source, and the client’s own confirmation. A tick-box written by the firm and signed by the client is weak evidence if the surrounding facts point the other way.
It is service-specific
A client who approached you for custody has not, by doing so, asked for swaps, staking or a card. Presenting a new product to an existing Turkish-resident client is solicitation of that product. This is the point most internal policies miss, because in-app cross-selling is automatic.
What reverse solicitation does not do. It does not disapply the Central Bank payment rules, the card and e-money licensing laws, or the ban on leveraged and derivative crypto products. Those regimes contain no own-initiative exception.
Which services can a foreign provider offer to Turkish residents on a reverse solicitation basis?
The answer differs for each function in the product. The table below is the pattern we see in opinions on wallet, exchange and card models; the result for a specific business depends on its documents and how the product actually behaves.
| Service | Actively offered to Turkey | Unsolicited, own-initiative client | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custody (holding assets or private keys) | SPK custodian authorisation required | Capable of falling outside the Communiqué | Regulated service under Communiqué Art. 5; Art. 9(1) applies to it |
| Deposits and withdrawals to the client’s own wallets | Follows custody | Follows custody | Transfer is platform activity; client-instructed movements share the custody analysis |
| Crypto-to-crypto swaps | SPK platform authorisation required | Conditional: only if the client independently asks for the swap | Exchange is platform activity whether orders are matched or filled as principal (Art. 10) |
| Fiat on-ramp and off-ramp | Platform authorisation plus payments law | High risk | Turkish payment and e-money institutions may not intermediate transfers to or from crypto platforms (CBRT Regulation Art. 4) |
| Leverage, margin, derivatives, lending, yield | Not permitted | Not permitted | Communiqué Art. 14; leveraged trading abroad aimed at Turkish residents is separately caught by Art. 99(4) |
| Crypto-linked card, merchant payments | Prohibited | Prohibited | CBRT Regulation Art. 3; card issuing needs a BDDK licence (Law No. 5464), payment services a CBRT licence (Law No. 6493) |
Reverse solicitation vs. a Turkish licence vs. partnering with a licensed Turkish platform
A foreign crypto firm has three routes to Turkish residents. Reverse solicitation costs little but allows no marketing and no growth. A Turkish licence allows marketing but requires a Turkish joint-stock company with TRY 250 million to TRY 630 million of capital in 2026. Routing clients through an SPK-listed Turkish provider sits between the two.
| Reverse solicitation | Own Turkish licence | Licensed Turkish partner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing in Turkey | None, in any language | Permitted within SPK rules | By the partner only |
| Turkish entity | Must not exist as a sales presence | Joint-stock company, local systems and key storage | Not required for the foreign firm |
| Product range | Custody, own-wallet transfers, client-requested swaps | Services within the SPK authorisation | The partner’s authorised services |
| Volume it can support | Incidental only | Full market | Depends on the commercial deal |
| Main exposure | Losing the position through one targeting indicator | Capital, time, ongoing supervision | Being treated as marketing through a Turkish institution if roles blur |
Three case analyses
Facts. A non-Turkish group ran a custodial wallet app. One entity held the assets, a second published the app, a third acted as principal on swaps, and a card was planned. Turkish residents were signing up without any campaign.
The obvious answer. “Each entity has its own contract, so only the custodian needs to worry, and reverse solicitation covers the whole app.”
Why it failed. Classification follows function. Separate contracts did not isolate the app, because promotion by any entity is attributed to the services shown in it. The card had no route at all.
What was adopted. Turkey closed as a market across every entity; Turkish residents admitted only through a compliance-owned exception register with an own-initiative file; default services limited to custody and own-wallet transfers; swaps only on unprompted request; cards, payments, peer-to-peer and yield hard-blocked.
Facts. An EU-authorised exchange removes its Turkish website but keeps a Turkish option inside the mobile app and pays commission to two Turkish YouTubers.
The obvious answer. “We no longer have a Turkish website, so the statutory indicator is gone.”
Why it fails. Promotion through persons resident in Turkey is a separate indicator, and a Turkish-language interface is hard to reconcile with not addressing Turkish residents.
Structure that works. Terminate the affiliates in writing, remove the language option, geo-restrict campaigns, keep the evidence, and re-paper existing clients.
Facts. A client opened a wallet while living in Germany, then moved to Istanbul. The app now offers her a staking product.
The obvious answer. “She is an existing client, so nothing changes.”
Why it fails. The relationship keeps its own-initiative character, but a product she never used is a new service, and the firm is the one presenting it.
Structure that works. Periodic residence re-screening and a “Turkey-resident mode”: existing services on her instruction, marketing and new-product prompts off.
What happens if…
What happens if the SPK decides we are targeting Turkey?
The SPK can order content removal or access blocking, which is executed through the Access Providers Association without a prior court hearing. It can also file a criminal complaint. Article 109/A liability attaches to individuals, which is why directors and compliance officers ask for the opinion.
What happens if a Turkish client complains about us?
A complaint is the most common way a foreign provider comes to the SPK’s attention. The own-initiative file for that client becomes the first document anyone asks for.
What happens if we send crypto to a Turkish exchange for our client?
Turkish providers are obliged parties under anti-money-laundering Law No. 5549 and apply travel-rule and transfer controls set by MASAK. Transfers that arrive without the required originator information can be delayed or returned. Have an interoperable travel-rule solution in place first.
What happens if we appoint a Turkish introducer and pay no commission?
Payment is not the test. Promotion carried out through a person or institution resident in Turkey is the indicator.
Does serving Turkish residents create Turkish tax exposure?
This is where a regulatory opinion and a tax review meet, and it is usually left out. A foreign provider with no office, staff or dependent agent in Turkey does not, as a rule, have a place of business or permanent representative for Corporate Tax Law No. 5520. That conclusion changes quickly if someone in Turkey sources clients or signs for the firm, and the same fact would also destroy the reverse solicitation position. Fee income from individuals in Turkey separately raises the question of VAT on electronically supplied services by non-residents (VAT Law No. 3065 Art. 9). The treatment depends on how the fee is characterised and should be confirmed for the specific model before clients are admitted. Our guide to VAT and permanent establishment for foreign companies serving Turkish customers sets out the general rules.
Turkey compared with the EU and the UK
| Jurisdiction | Rule for third-country crypto firms | How narrow? |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | Law No. 6362 Art. 99/A; Communiqué III-35/B.2 Art. 9 | Statutory targeting indicators; exception covers crypto-asset services only, never payments or cards |
| European Union | MiCA Article 61: service provided at the exclusive initiative of the client | Read restrictively in ESMA guidelines; no marketing of new types of crypto-assets or services to that client |
| United Kingdom | Financial promotion regime extended to cryptoassets in October 2023 | Built around who may communicate a promotion to UK consumers rather than a general own-initiative exemption |
A MiCA authorisation or an existing EU reverse solicitation policy is a useful starting point, but it does not answer the Turkish question. The Turkish indicators are different, and the payments prohibition has no EU equivalent.
What should a Turkish legal opinion on reverse solicitation cover?
A Turkish-law opinion for a foreign crypto firm should classify each function of the product under Capital Markets Law No. 6362, state whether and on what conditions Turkish residents may be served without SPK authorisation, give separate conclusions on custody, transfers, swaps and cards, list the assumptions relied on, and be signed by an attorney admitted to a Turkish bar.
- Documents reviewed: terms of use, custody terms, AML/KYC notice, group structure, any card or payment programme documents.
- Mapping of each entity and function to a Turkish legal category.
- Conclusion, reasoning and practical effect for each service.
- Treatment of clients who relocate to Turkey after onboarding.
- Operating conditions for relying on the position: marketing governance, exception register, evidence file, feature blocks.
- Assumptions, qualifications, reliance and disclosure terms.
We coordinate the engagement and act as the client’s single point of contact. The opinion itself is issued and signed by an independent attorney admitted to a Turkish bar, in that attorney’s own professional capacity. We do not give legal advice; we add the Turkish tax and accounting review that the regulatory analysis leaves open, in the same way as our Turkish tax opinions for foreign companies.
What drives the cost and timing of the opinion?
We do not publish fees; they are confirmed privately after a scoping call. The drivers are consistent:
- Number of regulated functions. Custody alone is one analysis. Custody, swaps, fiat ramps and a card are four, under three regulators.
- Number of group entities and whether intra-group agreements exist in executed form.
- Who will rely on it. An opinion for the board differs from one to be shown to a bank, auditor or app store.
- Whether a specimen or foreign counsel draft exists to review, or the analysis starts from the product.
- Add-ons: tax review, compliance policy drafting, annual refresh as SPK practice develops.
Seven mistakes foreign crypto firms make with Turkey
- Treating removal of the Turkish website as the whole job while the app, support desk or social channels still address Turkish users.
- Relying on a clause in the terms of use that says the client approached the firm, with no supporting evidence.
- Assuming an EU, UK or Dubai licence carries weight with the SPK.
- Cross-selling new products inside the app to Turkish-resident clients.
- Launching a card “for existing clients only”. The Central Bank prohibition has no such exception.
- Leaving affiliates and introducers resident in Turkey in place.
- Ignoring tax until a Turkish bank or counterparty asks about it.
Checklist before admitting the first Turkish-resident client
- No Turkish office, staff, agent or affiliate anywhere in the group
- No Turkish-language website, app interface, support or documentation
- No Turkey-directed campaign in any language, on any channel
- Own-initiative evidence file and exception register owned by compliance
- Default service set limited; swaps only on unprompted request
- Cards, merchant payments, fiat accounts, peer-to-peer, leverage and yield blocked
- Travel-rule solution tested with Turkish counterparties
- Written Turkish-law opinion and tax note on file, with a review date
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign crypto exchange legally have customers in Turkey?
Yes, but only customers who came to it entirely on their own initiative, and only if the exchange has no place of business in Turkey, no Turkish-language website and no promotion aimed at Turkish residents. Actively offering services to the Turkish market requires SPK authorisation, which is available only to a joint-stock company established in Turkey.
Is reverse solicitation recognised in Turkish crypto regulation?
Yes. Article 9(1) of SPK Communiqué III-35/B.2 places outside its scope the accounts and transactions of Turkish residents who use a foreign crypto-asset service provider entirely on their own initiative, provided the provider carries out no promotion, advertising or marketing directed at Turkish residents. The position is narrow and applies to crypto-asset services only.
Is it illegal for a person in Turkey to use a foreign crypto exchange?
No. Turkish law places the offence on the provider that directs unauthorised services at Turkish residents, not on the user. The practical risks for the user are access blocking of the site, the absence of Turkish investor protections and delayed or returned transfers when moving assets to a Turkish platform.
Can a foreign wallet or exchange offer a crypto card to users in Turkey?
No. The Central Bank Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments prohibits using crypto-assets directly or indirectly in payments and offering services for that purpose. Card issuing and payment services also require Turkish licences under Laws No. 5464 and 6493. There is no reverse solicitation exception for cards or payments.
What is the penalty for serving Turkish residents without SPK authorisation?
Unauthorised crypto-asset service provision is punishable under Article 109/A of Capital Markets Law No. 6362 with three to five years’ imprisonment and a judicial fine of 5,000 to 10,000 days. The SPK can also order content removal and access blocking under Article 99/A(3).
Does a MiCA licence let us serve Turkish clients?
No. Turkey is not part of the EU passporting system and the SPK does not recognise foreign authorisations. A MiCA-authorised firm is in the same position as any other foreign provider: it may not direct services at Turkish residents and may rely only on the own-initiative position in Communiqué III-35/B.2 Article 9(1).
Who can sign a Turkish legal opinion on crypto reverse solicitation?
A legal opinion on Turkish law is signed by an attorney admitted to a Turkish bar association. Systems CPA coordinates the engagement and provides the Turkish tax and accounting review alongside it; the legal conclusions are those of the signing attorney.
How long does a Turkish reverse solicitation opinion take?
Timing depends on the number of regulated functions, the number of group entities and the completeness of the documents. A custody-only model with final terms of use is the shortest case; a multi-entity model with swaps, fiat ramps and a card takes longer because three regulatory regimes have to be analysed.
Regulatory and tax certainty before you admit Turkish-resident clients
Every model is different: the entities, the documents, the features switched on in the app. We arrange Turkish-law legal opinions for foreign crypto-asset firms, signed by an independent Turkish attorney, together with the tax review the regulatory analysis leaves open. The engagement starts with a paid scoping consultation.
Related reading
- Turkish tax opinion services for foreign companies
- Foreign companies serving Turkish customers: VAT and permanent establishment
- Turkish local tax counsel for international law and accounting firms
Sources and legal references
- Capital Markets Law No. 6362, Arts. 3, 35/B, 35/C, 99, 99/A, 109/A (mevzuat.gov.tr), as amended by Law No. 7518, Official Gazette 2 July 2024, No. 32590.
- SPK announcement of 2 July 2024 on crypto-asset service providers, including the 2 October 2024 cut-off for foreign providers.
- SPK announcement of Communiqués III-35/B.1 and III-35/B.2, Official Gazette 13 March 2025, No. 32840.
- Communiqué III-35/B.2, consolidated text (Central Securities Depository copy), Arts. 5, 9, 10, 14, 27, 34.
- Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Official Gazette 16 April 2021, No. 31456 (resmigazete.gov.tr).
- Law No. 6493 on payment services and electronic money; Law No. 5464 on bank cards and credit cards (mevzuat.gov.tr).
- SPK application processes for crypto-asset service providers.
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), Article 61, and ESMA guidelines on reverse solicitation, for the comparison only.
Evren Özmen, CPA — Certified Public Accountant, Istanbul; TÜRMOB Reg. No. 35675; court-appointed expert witness. Wikidata profile. This article is general information as at 11 November 2026 and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Systems CPA does not provide legal advice; legal opinions are issued by independent Turkish attorneys. Regulatory treatment depends on the provider’s structure, documents and actual conduct, and SPK practice continues to develop.
Turn Turkey compliance into certainty
SYSTEMS CPA supports foreign-owned companies with company formation, accounting, tax compliance and payroll in Turkey — one accountable local partner. Reviewed by Evren Özmen, SMMM (Certified Public Accountant), TÜRMOB Reg. No. 35675.
