Is Paribu legal?

Paribu Teknoloji Anonim Şirketi is a corporation founded as per Turkish Commercial Law. Paribu operates by fully abiding by all legislations and invoices its revenue as per tax legislation and pays the relevant tax.

Lawyer Mehmet Türkarslan
Legal Advisor of Paribu

With the increased worldwide interest in cryptocurrencies, the interest in cryptocurrency transaction platforms that allow for the secure trade of cryptocurrency has risen as well; however, this interest brings along a lot of questions. The most popular question of recent times that is frequently heard is: “Are cryptocurrency transaction platforms legal?”

Crypto assets or digital assets, particularly Bitcoin, are based on blockchain technology. Therefore, there is no physical “money” being printed. A piece of software based on blockchain technology is transferred between people and the value of the transfer is automatically determined according to supply and demand because blockchain technology provides a sense of security. Since these transferable pieces of software are also tradable, they have a value and therefore these pieces of software are referred to as “currencies”.

The word “cryptocurrency” is translated literally from English into Turkish and that this equivalence is widely accepted contributes to the confusion about the concept. In spite of the word “currency” is translated to Turkish as “para” (money), it is in fact used in the sense of “asset”. Therefore, the word “cryptocurrency” should be understood as “crypto-asset”.

When we deemed the concept as “crypto-asset”, the “legality” of the concept will rest on a solid basis. Because as widely accepted definition, “money” means an exchange tool that is printed by the government, has the power to purchase goods and services, and that is accepted by everyone.

“The electronic money” concept creates a misunderstanding. As the definition per Law No. 6493, the electronic money concept is mistaken for crypto-assets, therefore an expectation of licensing arises. However, electronic money is a completely different concept, and they are named “money” since they are issued by the government.

There is no specific regulation for crypto asset trade platforms in Turkey and in many parts of the world. Currently, there is no regulation therefore no license in Turkey even though the efforts to form a relevant regulation continue due to the rapid growth of the area of use of crypto assets.

It is clear whether the crypto asset trade platform Paribu is legal or not following the explanation regarding crypto asset trade platforms in general.

As stipulated in the articles of incorporation, Paribu Teknoloji Anonim Şirketi is a corporation founded as per Turkish Commercial Law and continues its commercial operations in line with “creating market places on the internet”. The lack of specific legal regulation or license procedure regarding the crypto-asset trade platforms does not necessarily entail that such companies are not subject to any laws. Paribu Teknoloji AŞ is subject to all legislations, Turkish Commercial Law, Turkish Law of Obligations and Law on the Protection of the Customer in particular, and functions by fully abiding by these legislations, and pays its taxes by invoicing its revenue as per Turkish Tax Law and creates added value thereof.

Consequently, Paribu Teknoloji AŞ is a legal company and platform in full compliance with Turkish legislation. Paribu Teknoloji AŞ strives to regulate such platforms in Turkey, follows regulation efforts in the world closely, and conducts its activities according to the regulations of the leading countries.

You can read the research “Digital Asset Regulation” prepared by STATIS and localized into Turkish by Paribu that covers the regulation efforts in 15 countries by clicking on the link.