Running a Bitcoin exchange is no easy feat by any means. BTCTurk, one o f the cryptocurrency exchange platforms active in Turkey since 2013, has been forced to shut down their operations recently. This is odd news, considering Paypal pulling out of Turkey could have elevated Bitcoin usage. But with a closed bank account, there is little the BTCTurk team could do to prevent this difficult decision.
Turkey is one of the many countries in the world where Bitcoin does not have a particular legal status. This opens up opportunities for entrepreneurs to start their cryptocurrency businesses. At the same time, opposition from banks and government officials is to be expected once the firm becomes rather successful.
Since launching back in 2013, BTCTurk has seen its fair share of success in the Turkish Bitcoin market. Investors could convert Turkish Lira to Bitcoin and vice versa. There have never been any noteworthy payment issues, and everyone who ever used the platform seemed to have a positive experience.
It came as a shock when BTCTurk suddenly found out their bank account has been frozen. Since their partner bank had no intention of restoring access, the company was forced to look elsewhere. Unfortunately, that proved to be much harder than anticipated, as no willing bank partner could be found.
All of the BTCTurk users who had any remaining Turkish Lira or Bitcoin balances in their account will be compensated through wire transfers. The bank which closed the company’s account in the first place will honour these transactions before wrapping their “partnership” up altogether. A sad turn of events, but it could not be helped, unfortunately.
This news begs the question how the financial situation in Turkey will evolve in the coming months. PayPal halted their services a while ago, due to not obtaining their necessary license to operate in the country. With BTCTurk shutting down as well, the options are very limited. Peer-to-peer trading of Bitcoin is still possible, though.
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