Stablecoin transfer limits in Türkiye: the new rules explained

Many Iranians living in Türkiye move money with USDT, and since 2024 Türkiye has been writing rules for that market step by step: licences for platforms, the Travel Rule for transfers and, since the summer of 2025, caps on stablecoin transfers. This article collects the figures and dates as of writing (October 2026), with sources, and explains what they mean for anyone who wants to convert USDT in Istanbul. It is general information, not legal advice; the figures may have changed, and an important decision should be checked against the official text.

The legal framework: Law No. 7518 and licensing by the Capital Markets Board

The starting point is Law No. 7518, published in Türkiye's Official Gazette (No. 32590) on 2 July 2024. By adding provisions to the Capital Markets Law it placed “crypto asset service providers” under the supervision of the Capital Markets Board (SPK). Since then, exchange and custody platforms need a licence and unlicensed activity is punishable. The secondary regulations followed in March 2025, and that is when the wave of “identity re-verification” on Turkish platforms began, a topic we examine separately in why BTCTurk and Paribu restrict Iranian accounts.

MASAK and Communiqué No. 29: caps and waiting periods

Türkiye's financial intelligence unit (MASAK) treats crypto platforms as “obliged parties” under the anti-money-laundering law, and its General Communiqué No. 29, published in Official Gazette No. 32940 on 28 June 2025 and in force the same day, set several concrete rules for transfers. According to the legal summary published on Legal 500:

• Daily stablecoin transfer cap: the equivalent of USD 3,000 per user.
• Monthly stablecoin transfer cap: the equivalent of USD 50,000 per user.
• Doubling of the cap: under conditions set out in the regulation, the cap can be doubled. Sources describe those conditions differently (some point to transfers with complete information on both parties, others to a category of transactions), so read this part qualitatively and ask your platform.
• Withdrawal waiting period: a newly registered user's first withdrawal is delayed by at least 72 hours, and later withdrawals by at least 48 hours after buying, swapping or depositing assets.
• Transaction description: according to advisers and analysts, every transfer must carry a description of at least 20 characters, and a transfer without one is not processed. This point appears less often in formal legal summaries; treat it as something to confirm with your platform.

The important point is that all of these are obligations of licensed platforms: the platform must enforce the cap, hold the withdrawal and report suspicious transactions. The user experiences the caps in their account on that platform.

The Travel Rule: sender and recipient information

Apart from the caps, Türkiye has also implemented the Financial Action Task Force's “Travel Rule” for crypto. The amendments to the MASAK regulations were published in the Official Gazette (No. 32763) on 25 December 2024, and according to industry sources full implementation began on 25 February 2025. In practice, for transfers from the threshold of TRY 15,000 upwards, the platform must send verified sender information with the transfer and obtain recipient information as well. The rule binds exchanges, custodians and other crypto service providers, not your personal wallet directly; but wherever a licensed platform is involved, that information is requested.

The figures as of writing

What this means for Iranians in Türkiye

1. Plan the amount and the timing. If you use a licensed platform, larger transfers have to be spread over days or months, and the 48- or 72-hour waiting period belongs in the plan. A withdrawal you need “immediately” will not be immediate under these rules.

2. Complete, consistent information. The Travel Rule and the identity requirements mean names, documents and recipient details must be exact and consistent with one another. A small mismatch can stop a transfer or restrict an account.

3. Account access is a separate question. Many foreign nationals without residence cannot complete verification on Turkish platforms at all, in which case the caps never come into play. Our separate article explains this with reference to the exchanges' own help pages.

4. In-person conversion. For someone who holds USDT and wants lira or cash, an in-person conversion at an exchange office is a different route: the rate and fee are stated before execution, the network and address are confirmed, and delivery is in person. The reference USDT rate is on the USDT rate page; the firm rate of each request comes with a quote. Identity and source-of-funds information may be requested on this route too, as part of the same legal framework.

A few compliance and safety notes

• Do not try to get around the cap by splitting a transfer across several accounts or people; platforms are obliged to monitor risk and report suspicious transactions, and such patterns are exactly what they look for.
• Do not use someone else's account or wallet for your own transfer; it carries legal risk for you and for the account holder.
• Before sending USDT anywhere, get the rate, fee, network and address confirmed in writing, and never hand a private key or a verification code to anyone.
• Read the figures in this article with their date. Türkiye's crypto rules have changed several times since 2024 and may change again.

For the fuller picture of rules, networks and cashing out USDT in Türkiye, read the complete guide to Tether in Türkiye.