Turkish authorities block PancakeSwap in crackdown on crypto websites

Turkey’s Capital Markets Board, the country’s financial regulator, announced it had blocked access to websites “providing unauthorized crypto asset services.”

In a Thursday notice, the Capital Markets Board said it had taken legal action against 46 websites, including decentralized exchange PancakeSwap and Cryptoradar, in a crackdown on crypto services offered to residents of Turkey. The regulator cited the country’s Capital Markets Law as its authority to block the websites.

Thursday bulletin, including a block of crypto-related websites. Source: Capital Markets Board of Turkey

PancakeSwap reported more than $325 billion in trading volume for June, making it one of the most significant decentralized exchanges alongside Uniswap and Curve. It’s unclear how Turkish authorities determined the platform had been offering “unauthorized” services.

Cointelegraph reached out to a PancakeSwap spokesperson for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Regulators and authorities in certain countries have acted to block websites offering crypto services, often saying the companies had not been registered or were facilitating illicit transactions. The governments of Kazakhstan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Russia and others have previously cracked down on similar websites.

Related: Turkey tightens crypto rules with source, purpose checks on transfers

Strengthening crypto rules in Turkey

Turkey’s Capital Markets Board has had full regulatory control over crypto asset service providers offering services to residents since March, when it created a framework establishing standards and requirements. Since February, crypto users in Turkey have been required to provide identifying information when executing transactions of roughly $425 or more.

Turkish residents are permitted to purchase, hold and trade cryptocurrencies, but the country banned using digital assets for payments in 2021. A local law firm was scheduled to challenge the ban in a May hearing.

Magazine: Pakistan will deploy Bitcoin reserve in DeFi for yield, says Bilal Bin Saqib