24.02.2026 12:52
In Turkey, providing cryptocurrency services without permission and running affiliate programs is prohibited. However, the global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit continues its affiliate collaborations with Turkish social media influencers, ignoring this ban. Hundreds of posts on social media, especially on Twitter, reveal that the ban is effectively being violated.
The Law No. 7518 on the Amendment of the Capital Markets Law, published in the Official Gazette dated July 2, 2024, and numbered 32590, has fundamentally changed the cryptocurrency regulations in Turkey. With this law, the Capital Markets Board (CMB) has brought all cryptocurrency service providers under its supervision. One of the most critical regulations introduced by the law is the assessment of any services provided by foreign cryptocurrency platforms to users in Turkey as unauthorized activities. Accordingly, no foreign platform without a CMB license can advertise directly or indirectly to Turkish users or provide Turkish language support.
In line with the CMB's regulations, affiliate and referral (guidance) programs for cryptocurrency exchanges have also been explicitly banned. Following the ban, some major global exchanges, including Binance, removed their Turkish language support and terminated their referral programs. The sanctions foreseen by the law are extremely severe. Individuals and organizations providing unauthorized cryptocurrency services may face imprisonment of 3 to 5 years and fines of up to 10,000 days. These sanctions apply not only to the platforms but also to influencers and content creators who share affiliate links, promote, and guide users.
THEY CLOSED THEIR SITES BUT CONTINUE TO SHARE AFFILIATE LINKS After the news from Haberler.com titled "Influencers are now in trouble! Those who do this face imprisonment," Bybit removed its referral program page from publication, yet continues its affiliate activities in Turkey uninterruptedly months after the ban came into effect.
In scans conducted on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Telegram, it is observed that Turkish social media influencers are sharing Bybit's affiliate links and directing Turkish users to the platform. In some Telegram channels with hundreds of thousands of followers, Bybit affiliate links are actively shared. These shares containing Bybit's affiliate links do not include the terms "advertisement" or "sponsored content." Experts indicate that this situation poses separate risks of violations regarding both unauthorized activities and misleading advertising bans.
THEY HAVE ALSO STARTED FOREX TRADING Bybit's activities in Turkey are not limited to affiliate programs. The feature for leveraged forex trading has also been integrated into the Bybit application, and this product has started to be promoted to Turkish users through affiliate campaigns. This feature offers the possibility of leveraged trading of up to 500 times on currency pairs, commodities, and stocks. However, leveraged forex trading in Turkey has been under the supervision of the CMB since 2011. According to the Capital Markets Law No. 6362, which came into effect on December 6, 2012, it can only be conducted through CMB licensed brokerage firms and banks. No foreign cryptocurrency exchange has permission to provide direct services to Turkish users under this authority. Experts state that promoting this leveraged forex product through affiliate channels has crossed a critical threshold in terms of CMB regulations. Those who violate this ban may be prosecuted with imprisonment of 2 to 5 years and fines of 5,000 to 10,000 days. If the content or service providers are located abroad, the BTK can directly block access to these platforms upon the CMB's request.