Coinbase has pulled out of the Turkish crypto market and applied for liquidation with the Turkish Capital Markets Commission. The decision follows the company’s withdrawal of its initial application to enter the market just three months ago.
Turkey is one of the big players in the global crypto space. It ranks fourth for total trading volume and is 11th on Chainalysis’ 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index. Despite this, Coinbase of the U.S. has chosen to step back.
Liquidation requests surge amid industry challenges
According to the report, the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye updated the liquidation request list on Nov. 29, showing Coinbase’s decision to withdraw its August application and request liquidation.
This move follows similar actions from other companies. QNB Digital Assets, the digital asset division of QNB, filed for liquidation along with Finceptor, Koinim, Stanfex, and XYZ Teknoloji.
Applications have also been received for the provision of custody services relating to cryptocurrencies by Yapi Kredi Bank, Takasbank, and Eliptik Digital Custody Management, which BtcTurk owns.
So far, the number of companies that have filed for liquidation has risen to 14, while 77 others, including Binance, KuCoin, and OKX, have filed their applications.
In September, Binance and KuCoin removed the Turkish language option from their platforms and stopped targeting Turkish users. Binance explained this was due to the need to comply with Turkish regulations pertaining to crypto services based outside of Turkey.
Coinbase stops USDC Yields in Europe
Coinbase’s issues don’t end with Turkey: at the start of December, yields on USDC stopped being available in Europe due to filings related to the EU’s MiCA stablecoin law. A few users complained on X. The co-founder of Sablier joked thanks to the EU that prohibited yield on USDC.
When asked about its withdrawal, a Coinbase spokesperson said:
Continually assesses potential markets for expansion and remains adaptive to evolving market conditions, regulatory landscapes, and our internal priorities.
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