Crypto Regulatory Advisory
The regulatory landscape for crypto-assets is evolving rapidly across Türkiye, the EU, and the US, requiring businesses to navigate overlapping licensing regimes, AML obligations, securities-law boundaries, and consumer-protection rules simultaneously.
Crypto regulatory advisory is a cross-cutting service that draws on financial regulation, securities law, data protection, and corporate law to help crypto-asset businesses understand where they sit in the regulatory map, and what they need to do to operate lawfully and sustainably. The analysis is jurisdiction-specific and fact-intensive: a token that is unregulated in one jurisdiction may be a security, an e-money token, or an asset-referenced token in another.
GlobalB Law's crypto regulatory practice covers Türkiye, the EU, and the US. In Türkiye, following the introduction of the crypto service provider registration regime under the Capital Markets Law (6362) and the TCMB payment-services rules, Turkish crypto businesses must navigate SPK registration, AML obligations under MASAK, KVKK data requirements, and banking-channel restrictions. In the EU, the fully applicable MiCA framework governs both issuers and CASPs. In the US, the SEC's and CFTC's jurisdictional boundaries, FinCEN registration, and state money-transmitter licensing create a complex multi-regulator environment for crypto businesses serving US persons.
We advise on token classification analysis, regulatory roadmaps for new products, AML/CFT programme design, cross-border structuring to manage regulatory arbitrage risk, responses to regulatory inquiries and investigations, and legal opinions on token status. Our goal is to give clients a clear-eyed, actionable regulatory position, not a conservative non-answer, while ensuring they do not take on unquantified legal risk.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether my token is a security under US law?
US securities-law analysis applies the Howey test: an instrument is a security if it involves an investment of money in a common enterprise with an expectation of profit derived primarily from the efforts of others. The SEC has taken the position that many tokens satisfy this test. The analysis is fact-specific, the token's economic reality, the manner of its sale, the degree of decentralisation of the underlying network, and the representations made to buyers all matter. We provide written legal opinions on token status for use in product development, investor disclosures, and exchange listings.
What does registration as a crypto service provider in Türkiye require?
Türkiye's SPK requires crypto service providers to apply for registration under the Capital Markets Law. The application involves demonstrating adequate technical infrastructure, cybersecurity measures, qualified management, capital requirements, and an AML/CFT programme compliant with MASAK rules. Registered providers are also subject to ongoing reporting to the SPK and must comply with TCMB payment-channel regulations when handling Turkish lira. We guide clients through the application process and ongoing compliance obligations.
Can a MiCA-regulated CASP serve Turkish customers?
A MiCA CASP authorised in the EEA is licensed to operate within the European Economic Area. Providing services to customers located in Türkiye involves a separate analysis under Turkish law. Depending on the nature and scale of services, Turkish regulatory requirements, including SPK registration, may be triggered. We advise on the cross-border regulatory analysis for CASPs targeting both EU and Turkish user bases.
What are the AML obligations for crypto businesses in Türkiye?
Crypto service providers in Türkiye are classified as obliged entities under MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) regulations. This requires implementation of a full AML/CFT programme including customer due diligence (CDD), enhanced due diligence (EDD) for high-risk customers, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting (STR), record-keeping, and staff training. MASAK inspections of crypto businesses have intensified, and we advise on programme design and regulatory examination defence.
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