Cryptocurrencies have returned to the Turkish zeitgeist, courtesy of the country's 2024 Presidential Plan.

In the upcoming year, it appears that substantial regulatory alterations, possibly involving taxation, are on the horizon.

The "Decision Approving the 2024 Presidential Annual Programme (Decision Number: 7739)" was published in a supplementary issue of the Turkish Official Gazette.

Cryptocurrency Regulation

Remaining a hotly debated investment class for governments worldwide cryptocurrencies have seen quite their shar eof regulation this year, despite increasing global interest in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

In Turkey, there have been attempts to draft legislation to oversee cryptocurrencies and their associated exchanges, with taxation being a central issue.

However, no real progress has been made in this regard.

This year looks to be slightly different.

Within the document, the "Activities and Projects to Be Conducted" section of item 400.5, under the "Policies and Measures" table, there is a specific mention of cryptocurrencies:

Here indicates a forthcoming definitive definition of cryptocurrencies and the imposition of taxation on gains generated through cryptocurrency trading.

It is not known as of point of writing the extent and scope of the intended taxation by the Turkish government.

The government will likely also not be able to tax private owners of cryptocurrencies - rather electing to do so through centralised exchanges under its purview.

Turkey's Crypto Adoption

Turkey has been one of the earliest adopters of cryptocurrencies.

In April 2021, Thodex, once among Turkey's prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, abruptly ceased operations in April 2021.

This left over 400,000 users in the dark regarding their deposits, which totalled around $2 billion in various cryptocurrencies.

Coinlive previously reported on how the Thodex founder received a total of more than 11,000 years in prison.