TL;DR Breakdown
- On DEC. 25, 2021, Turkey slapped Binance with a fine after a liability inspection.
- Binance will pay a fine of 8 million Lira or 751,314 USD.
It was a rough day for Binance after Turkey’s MASAK found issues in its operations after an inspection. The financial board has ordered the exchange to pay a fine of 8 million Lira.
Binance to pay a fine to the Turkish government
Binance will have to part ways with $751K after Turkey asked to pay a fine for failing an inspection. This fine is one of a kind since MASAK took responsibility to monitor cryptocurrencies in the Country in May.
However, the two organizations did not give further details regarding the fine, and neither of them has issued another public statement yet. It is not the first time Binance has experienced harsh treatment from regulators. A few months ago, Singapore ordered it to cease giving its services there.
Turkey is also careful about crypto exchanges since its citizens were scamming victims by two different exchanges. Thodex and Vebitcoin were the key crypto service providers there, and many relied on them. However, their owners took advantage of the Turkish citizens and disappeared with their funds.
As a result, the Turkish government has been watching to avoid the re-occurrence of such an ugly event. In May 2021, it also introduced a guide for crypto services providers to follow. The providers who fail to follow it would be penalized for up to 4 million Liras. Not following this guide is why Binance will now pay a fine of 8 million Lira.
Turkey follows major economies to set crypto regulations
Turkey has been showing interest in regulating cryptocurrencies for quite some time now. In May 2021, Turkey said it did not have compassion for BTC and other similar coins. In September, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the country was warring against digital tokens.
However, he clarified that the country does not have a problem with these tokens, but their war against them is pretty special. He added that the government could not bow to the use of such currency as legal tender, but it will hold on to its fiat since it’s the one that identifies his country.
Previously the country had also ordered crypto exchanges to cease giving their services in April 2021. The authorities advised that the assets are highly volatile thus hazardous. Today, Cryptopolitan reported that Turkish officials are convening soon to prepare a suitable crypto regulatory structure.
The reports said that the President told the media yesterday that his government is ready to make cryptos safer through regulation. He also added that regulating these assets would be vital in developing the country’s economy.
President Erdogan also revealed that the upcoming regulatory framework would have a bank as the exchange facilitator. He noted that the country had learned from the past when two exchanges stole assets worth a fortune from its citizens.
Other countries are also drafting rules to govern the use and trade of these assets there. One of the most recent news is Russia, where government officials met yesterday in Parliament to discuss crypto regulation. The US SEC is also drafting rules for stablecoins as a whole framework for all assets awaits.
