Turkish digital bank BankPozitif is set to launch cryptocurrency custody services in collaboration with Swiss crypto platform Taurus, making it the latest financial institution in Turkey to embrace digital assets.
On March 4, BankPozitif announced a strategic partnership with Taurus, enabling its institutional clients to store crypto assets with the bank.
The service is expected to be rolled out by June and will initially feature support for the top five crypto assets by market cap, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (BTC), Tether USDt (USDT), XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL), a spokesperson for BankPozitif told Cointelegraph.
“Crypto is a very hype topic. We believe that other players will also be active in the Turkish market. Our young population, high financial literacy and a digitally compatible user demographic provide the basis for this,” the spokesperson said.
BankPozitif received temporary crypto nod from CMB
According to BankPozitif chairman Erkan Kork, the digital bank has received a crypto custody license from the Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB).
“Our local crypto subsidiary, PozitifKripto, has also received the service provider license,” the executive said in a LinkedIn post in late February.
CMB license announcement by BankPozitif chairman Erkan Kork on Feb. 28. Source: LinkedIn
“We have completed the necessary temporary permit authorization from the Capital Markets Institution to which we are affiliated. From now on, we will enter the phase of setting up the process within the bank with business rules,” Kork told Cointelegraph.
Related: Taurus launches Solana-based custody and tokenization platform for banks
According to public CMB data, BankPozitif is among 88 firms that declared they will operate in accordance with Temporary Article 11 of the Capital Markets Law No. 6362.
“In this context, the existence of the ‘list of those operating’ does not mean that the organizations included in this list are authorized in accordance with the relevant legislation,” the authority said.
Taurus works with other Turkish banks
Apart from BankPozitif, Taurus has been working with three other Turkish banks, including Misyon Bank — which announced its crypto debut in March 2024 — Taurus co-founder Lamine Brahimi told Cointelegraph.
BankPozitif’s Erkan Kork (left) and Taurus’ Lamine Brahimi. Source: LinkedIn
“As demand for secure, compliant digital asset solutions grows, we’re committed to supporting Türkiye’s financial sector with institutional-grade infrastructure — backed by our local presence in Istanbul,” Brahimi said.
Other crypto-friendly banks in Turkey include Garanti Bbva and Akbank.
As previously mentioned, Turkey introduced new crypto regulations in the final week of 2024, targeting stricter Anti-Money Laundering measures and client identification policies.
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