Kenne Michael 
According to reports, Turkey is working on new regulations to control cryptocurrency assets in an attempt to persuade the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body tasked with addressing financial crimes, to take it off of a “gray list” of countries that have not gone far enough in curbing the funding of terrorism and money laundering.
In 2021, the FATF notably placed Turkey on its gray list. According to a report, during a meeting with a parliamentary commission on October 31, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek stated that the country complied with 39 of the 40 FATF standards.
Finance Minister Simsek reportedly stated that the sole outstanding matter for technical compliance is related to crypto assets.
He cited intentions to propose a crypto-assets law to parliament, aiming to exit the gray list, pending any political factors. No details regarding the legal modifications were provided.
The G7 advanced economies established the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to safeguard the international financial system. In 2019, the FATF warned Turkey about significant deficiencies.
However, among these was the need to improve procedures for the blocking of assets related to terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Despite this, the Turkish Presidential Annual Program for 2024, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey on October 25, outlines the completion of cryptocurrency regulations by the end of 2024.
Within the 500-page document, Article 400.5 outlines the intended efforts to establish precise definitions for crypto assets, which may be subject to taxation in the future.
In addition, the document seeks to define crypto asset providers, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, legally.
However, it provides no additional details regarding the forthcoming regulatory framework.
By December 2022, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey had effectively conducted the initial trial of its digital currency, the digital lira.
It has stated its intent to continue testing through 2024.