Presidential Updates and Policies from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has led Turkey through one of the most significant periods of cryptocurrency expansion in the country’s history. Although often portrayed as a critic, Erdoğan has overseen the integration of blockchain expertise into state institutions. In December 2023, a presidential decree appointed Prof. Dr. Fatma Özkul, a scholar specializing in digital assets, to the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Turkey, marking the first time a crypto expert formally joined the nation’s monetary authority. Turkey ranked among the top five global markets for crypto transaction volumes in 2023, with millions of citizens using digital assets as a hedge against inflation that peaked above 60 percent.

In 2025, new restrictions were introduced, including a $3,000 daily cap and $50,000 monthly cap on stablecoin transfers, along with mandatory 48 to 72-hour holding periods for noncompliant withdrawals. These policies targeted money laundering while attempting to stabilize markets valued at over $170 billion in cumulative transaction volume. Erdoğan’s mix of restrictive regulation and selective adoption places Turkey at the center of debates on state control and innovation in digital finance.