18.02.2026 15:03
In Turkey, foreign-owned companies are prohibited from conducting forex transactions under the Capital Markets Law No. 6362. However, some global cryptocurrency exchanges like Bybit are not only integrating forex features into their crypto trading platforms to effectively bypass this ban, but they are also directing Turkish users towards leveraged transactions through influencers.
Leveraged trading transactions (forex) in Turkey have been regulated and supervised by the Capital Markets Board (CMB) since 2011. With the Capital Markets Law No. 6362, which came into effect on December 6, 2012, leveraged foreign exchange transactions were included in the capital markets legislation, and a CMB license and supervision requirement was imposed on all institutions wishing to provide this service.
500X LEVERAGE IS PROMISED, PROMOTIONS CONTINUE Global cryptocurrency exchanges have started to offer leveraged forex trading features in their applications, in addition to continuing Turkish advertising campaigns and referral programs despite the ban, to reach Turkish users. This feature, which goes beyond cryptocurrency trading, allows leveraged trading on currency pairs, commodities, and even stocks. The forex product of the global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit promises leverage of up to 500 times. Bybit's forex product is promoted to Turkish users through affiliate campaigns, surpassing a critically important threshold in terms of CMB regulations. The Law No. 6362 only permits such activities to be conducted through CMB licensed brokerage firms and banks. No foreign cryptocurrency exchange has the permission to directly provide services to Turkish users under the leveraged trading authorization. Experts state that although these activities may appear to be in a gray area, they clearly fall under unauthorized activities.
HEAVY SANCTIONS AWAIT THOSE WHO VIOLATE THE BAN Experts state that the law foresees heavy sanctions for those who violate this ban, indicating that those who operate unauthorized in the capital markets can be punished with imprisonment from two to five years and judicial fines ranging from five thousand to ten thousand days. They express that if the content and hosting providers are located abroad, the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) can directly block access upon the request of the CMB.
EXPERTS WARN: DO NOT USE PLATFORMS WITHOUT CMB LICENSE Experts indicate that investors residing in Turkey who engage in leveraged trading through a platform without a CMB license may not face direct criminal sanctions, but they are taking serious risks. In the event of a potential victimization, the right to appeal to Turkish courts or the CMB is extremely limited, and accessing accounts can become difficult if the platform is blocked. Therefore, experts emphasize that leveraged trading should not be conducted on platforms without CMB licenses to avoid both fraud and potential sanction victimization.