NEWSLETTER-2020-metin

100 NEWSLETTER 2020 Bitcoin under Turkish Law* Att. Yağmur Zeytinkaya Today’s world, where technology and the globalization are de- veloping at a great pace, brings many new developments. Some of the biggest developments are cryptocurrencies, which may be defined as “international currencies.” These cryptocurrencies raise the concern of many investors, while also drawing attention to many of them for reasons that they are not subject to inspection by any institutions, their inventors are anonymous, and they only exist in the digital world. There is no doubt that we will be often hearing of cryptocurrencies in the upcoming years, especially Bitcoin, which is one of the most popular examples, and the fact that these cryptocurrencies already expand the scope of existing definitions under current legislations. This newsletter article examines cryptocurrencies under Turkish law, including Bitcoin, their legal natures and recent developments in for- eign jurisdictions. Legal Nature of Bitcoin The Bitcoin is defined as a digital currency, which uses block- chain technology. The Bitcoin is subject to direct transactions, which are carried out by virtue of a peer-to-peer system 1 . As explained, above, the inventor of the Bitcoin is still anonymous, and the transac- tions in relation to the Bitcoin are not subject to the inspection of any authority. It is possible to say that the current definitions under Turkish law are insufficient to define the legal nature of cryptocurrencies, and also the Bitcoin, since cryptocurrencies do not fall within the scope of current definitions, as explained in detail, below. Current definitions that are mostly related to cryptocurrencies are as follows: * Article of November, 2020 1 Tevetoğlu, Mete : “Bankacılık ve Sermaye Piyasası Hukuku Perspektifinden Bit - coin Davaları,” Banka ve Finans Hukuku Dergisi, V. 9, No. 34, 2020, p. 550