Turkey’s Upcoming Crypto Rules Will Protect Users While Fostering Innovation, Lawmaker Says

Turkey’s planned rules for the crypto industry are primarily to ensure consumer protection – but in a way that also supports innovation, Ömer İleri, deputy chairman for the ruling AK Party, told CoinDesk Turkey in an interview on Tuesday.

İleri, who oversees Information and Communication Technologies for the AK Party, met with crypto industry representatives, including legal experts and members of the media, to discuss the planned legislative package.

“Our goal is to secure the citizen, to protect the investor, to regulate the platforms, but to put forward a draft law that also paves the way for innovators and innovation,” İleri said.

According to İleri, Turkey has big plans for various tech fields, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. He pointed to initiatives like Blockchain Istanbul and Forum Metaverse by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration as examples of the government’s interest in the blockchain space.

In January, the country’s Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said the government was almost done with technical studies for a crypto legislative package. Conducting a “legal study” of crypto assets is important for consumer protection and promoting innovation in the space, İleri said Tuesday.

“Today’s meeting was really very beneficial in this sense. Sector representatives shared their thoughts on situation assessment. They expressed their opinions on what should be included in the draft. Honestly, we see that all of us have similar thoughts in this process,” he said.