Key Takeaways
- The U.S. exchange has withdrawn its pre-application and filed for liquidation, exiting one of the largest global crypto markets.
- Alongside Coinbase, other firms like QNB Digital Assets and Finceptor also requested liquidation.
- While some crypto firms exit Turkey, others, like Yapi Kredi and BtcTurk, ramp up their custody service applications.
Coinbase, one of the leading U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges, has officially withdrawn from the Turkish market, according to the reports. This decision, confirmed by its withdrawal of a pre-application filed in August, marks a significant shift in the country’s crypto landscape.
In an update by the Turkish Capital Markets Board, Coinbase also filed for the liquidation of the company, a prelude to the end of its short-lived expansion attempts in Turkey.
The announcement also falls in line with greater challenges Coinbase faces, such as when it chose not to continue USDC yield offerings in Europe due to the European Union’s MiCA stablecoin regulations. The move elicited an uproar from large sections of social media, which lashed out at regulatory barriers placed on innovation.
Market Shifts Amid Liquidations
Turkey has remained a hotbed for cryptocurrency trading, ranking fourth in the world by trading volume and 11th in global adoption, according to Chainalysis. Despite this dynamic ecosystem, a wave of liquidations swept through the market. In addition to Coinbase, QNB Digital Assets and Koinim, among others, have filed for liquidation, bringing the number of liquidations to 14.
On the opposite note, though, the applications from crypto custodial services go the other way around since, reportedly, their number grew by a third: along with Takasbank, with Eliptik Digital Custody Management, joined another major local player-Yapi Kredi Bank-in an ambition for some actual real-time implementations with due consideration towards regulations, within the widely gaining space of digital assets in Turkey.
Binance and KuCoin’s Cautious Approach
Other heavyweights also reboot their Turkish strategies. Global major exchanges like Binance and KuCoin pulled Turkish language support on the platforms and dialed back local marketing in September, citing this move as compliance with local rules targeting non-local crypto service providers.
It also portrays the dual narrative being witnessed in the Turkish crypto market: while some firms retreat to the rising regulations, others double down and scale up localized, fully compliant operations. This move by Coinbase underlines an increasingly complex balance between global expansion and the adaptation to regulation.
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