• The FSB published a peer review of Türkiye recommending the country create a dedicated stablecoin regime covering reserves, redemption and supervision.
  • Turks buy more stablecoins relative to GDP than any other economy, and its domestic reporting system misses foreign platforms.
  • The findings are advisory, so new rules depend on action by Turkish regulators.

Türkiye was advised by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to draft rules to specifically govern stablecoin use in the country, according to the peer review the agency published on Wednesday, November 11.

The FSB paired the warning with data showing that demand for dollar-pegged stablecoins relative to economy size is higher inside Türkiye than anywhere else in the world.

The peer review by the Basel-based body tracked data up to August 2026.

Many Turks are trading on platforms Türkiye cannot see

The FSB noted that while Turkish authorities have already finalized a framework for crypto assets, the monitoring system has blind spots. It also pointed out that the country does not yet have a framework for stablecoins.

Türkiye started weekly reporting in early 2026 via Crypto Asset Central Registry System (KVMKS). However, the blind spot the FSB highlighted comes from the country’s monitoring platform only pulling data from platforms licensed domestically.

The KVMKS net does not catch funds held on foreign exchanges and self-custody wallets.

Turks who want to trade leverage or derivatives don’t have any domestically registered options because platforms are only approved to offer spot trading. All of that demand gets routed to offshore venues.

Notably, Turkey’s largest trading platform, BtcTurk, has suffered three breaches in two years. It lost about $48 million in its most recent incident, as Cryptopolitan reported.

Stablecoin demand is highest in Türkiye

The stablecoin flag the FSB raised in its peer view traces back to the scale of stablecoin demand in Türkiye, which is higher than anywhere else in the world. Per Chainalysis data reported in 2024, Turks spent 4.3% of the country’s GDP buying stablecoins. That number is the highest in the world, ahead of Thailand, Georgia and the United States.

One of the reasons for the demand for Tether’s USDT and other dollar-pegged tokens is because of their effectiveness in shielding savings from local inflation and lira slides. The other is to fund their accounts on overseas platforms.

Türkiye ranks among the top 20 crypto markets in the world, with nearly $200 billion in annual transactions. Dollar-pegged stablecoins accounted for about 17% of on-chain transactions in 2025. By comparison, the only locally issued lira stablecoin, BiLira (TRYB), has a market value of nearly $5.9 million.

What did the FSB recommend to Ankara?

The FSB told Turkish authorities to establish a regime specifically for stablecoins, including rules on reserves and redemptions. The Basel-based body also recommended that Ankara require issuers to maintain tokens close to their reference currency, manage reserves transparently, and give holders a timely right to cash out.

Some controls already exist, including Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) caps on stablecoin transfers.

The FSB wants a published timeline for each stage of the audit capacity and custody bottlenecks that have stalled full licensing progress.

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FAQs

What did the FSB recommend for Turkey?

The FSB called on Turkey to build a dedicated stablecoin regime with transparent reserves and redemption rights, publish a licensing timeline for crypto providers, strengthen supervision, and improve cross-border cooperation and data monitoring.

Why does Turkey rely so heavily on stablecoins?

Turks use dollar-pegged tokens like USDT to hedge against the depreciating lira and high inflation, which is why stablecoin purchases reached 4.3% of GDP, the highest share of any economy in Chainalysis data.

Can Turkish regulators see the whole crypto market?

No. The KVMKS registry only aggregates data from domestic platforms, leaving foreign exchanges and self-custody wallets outside its scope, even though offshore venues such as Binance account for a large share of Turkish trading.

Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.

Hannah Collymore

Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.

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