ISTANBUL, March 2 (Reuters) – Turkey’s ruling AK Party proposed on Monday adopting a tax on cryptocurrency income and a transaction levy on crypto asset service providers, in a draft law submitted to parliament.
“Platforms must apply a 10% withholding tax on income and gains from crypto‑asset transactions on a quarterly basis,” the text of the draft said.
Profits from crypto asset transactions conducted outside authorized platforms would be taxed through declaration in annual statements.
Under the proposal, crypto asset service providers would pay a 0.03% transaction tax on sale and transfer transactions they conduct or mediate.
Turkish authorities have steadily tightened oversight of platforms as cryptocurrency use in Turkey surged in recent years, driven largely by high inflation and the lira’s depreciation.
Turkey ranks among the world’s leaders in crypto adoption and annual transaction volumes, reaching nearly $200 billion in 2025, far surpassing other markets in the region, U.S.-based blockchain research company Chainalysis said in a report.
“Such plans for taxes risk doing more harm than good at this stage,” said Bora Erdamar, director of the BlockchainIST Center.
“These tax plans could push users away from local platforms and slow the growth of the market. These measures may be appropriate once the sector is mature, but for now I think it is too early,” Erdamar said.
(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Nevzat Devranoglu; Editing by Ece Toksabay and Jonathan Spicer)
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