BtcTurk | Kripto

Founded in Istanbul as the first Turkish and the fourth bitcoin exchange in the world. Founder - Kerem Tibuk. In April-July 2022, Coinbase held negotiations to acquire BtcTurk with a valuation of around $3.2 billion, but the deal did not materialize. Key milestones: launch of the spot platform (2013), listing of Tether (USDT) on BtcTurk | PRO (November 10, 2020), launch of the Turkish stock service BtcTurk | Hisse (~2023), partnership with DriveWealth for access to US stocks and ETFs (October 14, 2025). As of Aug 3, 2026 , the exchange retains a significant share of the Turkish market alongside direct competitors Paribu and Binance TR . Regulation and Licenses BtcTurk's operations are overseen by Turkey's Capital Markets Board (CMB) and the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK). Following the enactment of the Law Amending the Capital Markets Law on July 2, 2024, the exchange was included in the CMB's list of operating crypto asset service providers, granting it temporary authorization to operate pending secondary legislation. It holds no international licenses (New York State BitLicense, UK FCA registration, EU MiCA authorization); servicing residents of the US and EEA is prohibited under BtcTurk | Global rules. The internal KYC/AML policy requires mandatory verification for access to deposits, withdrawals, and trading. Turkish citizens provide a national ID and undergo facial recognition; foreigners provide a foreigner ID number (starting with 99) and a valid residence permit. In June 2025, MASAK tightened requirements: a 72-hour hold on the first withdrawal for new users, a daily limit on stablecoin transfers of up to $3,000, and mandatory documentation for cash payments over 30,000 TRY. The exchange applies the international Travel Rule and must submit suspicious transaction reports (STR) to MASAK within 72 hours of detecting anomalous activity. Products and Fees The main product is spot cryptocurrency trading with fiat pairs in TRY and crypto-to-crypto pairs. Two interfaces are available: Basic and Advanced on the web and mobile app. Corporate clients can use the OTC service and dedicated accounts. For algorithmic trading, REST and WebSocket APIs are provided with documented endpoints, including GET /api/v2/server/exchangeinfo for market metadata and POST /api/v1/order for placing orders. Supported order types: Market, Limit, Stop Market, Stop Limit. Integration with the CCXT library is available. The BtcTurk | Global platform features transaction reporting and portfolio analytics tools. The fee model is maker-taker with decreasing rates as 30-day trading volume increases; current tiers are published on the support site. No native exchange token has been issued. Products absent from BtcTurk | Kripto as of Aug 3, 2026 : margin trading, crypto derivatives, staking, NFT marketplace, copy trading, P2P market, debit cards. Volumes and Liquidity The majority of volume is generated on Turkish lira pairs, primarily BTC/TRY and USDT/TRY. Qualitative dynamics: the exchange holds a dominant position in Turkey, where the crypto market ranks fourth globally by volume. The international platform BtcTurk | Global targets traders from permitted countries, but its liquidity is structured around spot pairs. The derivatives market and open interest are absent on the domestic platform due to the lack of such a product. Security and Incidents Storage architecture: at least 97% of user funds are held in cold wallets with multi-signature controls; hot wallets are protected by multi-signature and procedural gates. Information on independent financial audits is published - in 2023, the reports were audited by Deloitte (link to the page "Deloitte_Eliptik-Rapor-Gorus-Sayfasi"). No regular proof of reserves (Merkle-tree PoR) with verifiable liabilities is published. The analytical service CER.live assigns the platform a DDD rating with a security score of 39% due to the absence of an approved penetration test and formal PoR. Major incidents: June 22, 2024 - hot wallet hack: attackers withdrew funds across 10 assets. External damage estimates range from $54 million to $55 million. Binance froze approximately $5.3 million of the stolen funds. Crypto withdrawals were suspended; cold wallets were not affected. August 14, 2025 - second hot wallet hack due to a private key leak. Seven blockchain networks were attacked: Ethereum , Avalanche , Arbitrum , Base , Optimism , Mantle , and Polygon . The stolen amount ranged from $48 million to $51.7 million. The exchange suspended deposits and withdrawals, notified law enforcement, compensated user losses from insurance and corporate reserves, and resumed operations within five days. Around January 1, 2026 - third major hack, estimated at approximately $48 million, marking the third significant incident in 19 months. A bug bounty program is in place to identify vulnerabilities. Related Individuals Kerem Tibuk - founder (July 1, 2013), chairman of the board, acting CEO since July 2024. Holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Davis & Elkins College (1992-1996). Digital business entrepreneur since the late 1990s; first encountered bitcoin in 2010-2011. C. Ozgur Guneri - CEO from early 2018 to July 18, 2024, remains a board member. MBA from London Business School, 30 years in financial services. Previously senior analyst at Global Securities (1991-1998), deputy general manager, CIO, general manager, and board member at Finans Portföy Yönetimi A.Ş. (2000-2013), general manager and board member at Finansinvest (until January 2018). Involved in launching the first ETF in Turkey and emerging Europe. Also led BtcTrader. Murat Bitirici - CEO and board member of BtcTurk | Hisse (securities division). Previous experience: leadership roles at Odeabank, Akbank, Accenture, Procter & Gamble. Salim Karaman - CEO of BtcTurk | Kripto, general manager, and board member. Graduated from Uludağ Üniversitesi (2005) in electronic engineering. Comments on platform strategy. Ozan Yurtseven - Technology CEO and CTO. Tevfik Kınık - board member, mentioned in the context of group CEO. Parent entities: Eliptik Yatırım Menkul Değerler Anonim Şirketi (equity of ₺150 million) and BtcTurk Kripto Varlık Alım Satım Platformu A.Ş. Potential BtcTurk is actively expanding its product line beyond crypto trading: launch of BtcTurk | Hisse (stock and ETF trading), partnership with DriveWealth for access to the US securities market (October 2025). Regulatory clarity following the "temporarily operating" provider status from the CMB (July 2024) and adaptation to MASAK's tightened requirements strengthen the exchange's legal position. The Turkish market remains one of the largest globally by crypto transaction volume, supporting demand for local fiat on-ramps. Risks [Identified by Finkonkurs AI Analytics System] Recurring hacks : three incidents in 19 months (June 2024, August 2025, January 2026) with damages ranging from $48 to $55 million each; CER.live security rating DDD (39%), undermining user trust. Lack of public Proof-of-Reserves : no Merkle-tree audit with verifiable liabilities; aggregators (CoinGecko) note reserves as unavailable. Regulatory risks : tightening MASAK rules (stablecoin limits, withdrawal delays, Travel Rule reporting) increases operational burden; potential changes in crypto asset legislation following the completion of CMB's secondary rulemaking. Competitive pressure : the domestic market is dominated by Paribu and Binance TR, which may offer a broader product range (derivatives, staking), putting pressure on BtcTurk's market share. Lack of native token and insurance fund : the platform has no native token for fee discounts and does not disclose the size of an insurance fund (SAFU), reducing competitiveness compared to global CEXs. Geopolitical concentration : the business is almost entirely dependent on the Turkish jurisdiction; any changes in currency controls or financial regulation in Turkey could significantly impact the availability of TRY rails.