The Turkish government is proposing legislation to allow its financial crime watchdog, Masak, to freeze cryptocurrency accounts to combat money laundering and financial crime. The move aligns with recommendations from FATF, a global standard-setter against illicit financing. The bill aims to restrict illicit activities like rented accounts and tighten oversight in the crypto sector.

If passed, Masak will have the power to freeze or close accounts linked to criminal activities in various financial systems, including crypto exchanges. The legislation targets rented accounts used for illegal activities like gambling and fraud. Despite legal crypto trading in Turkey, authorities are imposing stricter rules, such as requiring detailed transaction information and stablecoin transfer limits.

Crypto adoption in Turkey is on the rise, with the country ranking 14th in the Global Crypto Adoption Index. The depreciation of the Turkish lira since 2018 has driven citizens to seek alternative stores of value like dollar-pegged stablecoins and Bitcoin. In 2020, one Bitcoin was equivalent to 100,000 Turkish lira, but now it exceeds 4.6 million lira due to Bitcoin’s price appreciation and the lira’s depreciation.

Read more at Cointelegraph: Turkey to Let Masak Freeze Crypto Accounts in AML Push: Report