Coinzo, one of Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has decided to discontinue its digital asset trading services. The platform stated that its website will remain operational for the next six months, allowing users to withdraw their cryptocurrency and Turkish fiat money holdings.
Another Turkish cryptocurrency exchange has shut down amid Ankara’s ‘War on Cryptocurrency.’
Coinzo, a leading Turkish cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Monday that it will cease trading operations. Customers were asked to withdraw their assets in Turkish lira and cryptocurrency, but no reason was given for the platform’s decision to exit the market. The company stated in a notice published on its website:
We have decided to discontinue our service as a digital asset service provider (cryptocurrency platform).
The exchange emphasized that its website, Coinzo.com, will remain operational for another six months, during which traders will be able to log in and withdraw Turkish lira and cryptocurrencies. Except for the purchase and sell options, all features will be available.
“During this process, our support team will continue to provide solutions to our users’ problems,” Coinzo added. It also stated that “all Turkish lira and crypto money assets belonging to our users are safe,” and that cryptocurrency holdings that are less than the minimum withdrawal limit will be credited to users’ Turkish lira accounts within a week of the announcement.
The exchange revealed that it had already suspended the trading pair of the Turkish lira with its own Coinzo token (CNZ) so that its holders would not be affected by price changes following the closure announcement. Balances in CNZ will be converted at the last transaction rate of 1.516 lira per coin, and funds will be transferred within seven working days.
Withdrawals in Turkish lira can be made to a bank account that matches the name and surname on the Coinzo account. The platform will not charge the standard fiat withdrawal commission, and the minimum withdrawal limit is set at 0.1 lira. It has also provided detailed instructions on how to transfer cryptocurrency assets to another wallet.
According to the Turkish news portal Diken, Coinzo, which is operated by a company based in the city of Izmir, is one of the five largest exchanges in Turkey. According to the publication, the crypto platform had daily trading volumes of close to 500 million lira (more than $55 million).
Coinzo’s demise follows the demise of other Turkish cryptocurrency exchanges such as Thodex and Vebitcoin. The two companies ceased operations earlier this year after Turkey’s central bank, the TCMB, prohibited the use of cryptocurrencies for payment. Following the ban, Turkish authorities updated cryptocurrency regulations in May, imposing stricter requirements on local cryptocurrency trading service providers.
The news of Coinzo’s closure comes after President Recep Tayyip Erdoan declared in September that Turkey is “at war” with cryptocurrency, despite earlier reports that the Turkish government was preparing a draft law to regulate the country’s crypto space, which was expected to be introduced in parliament this October. In July, akir Ercan Gül, deputy minister of treasury and finance, was quoted as saying that “those who ban [cryptocurrencies] are generally countries with democracy problems.” His remarks suggested that Turkey will adopt a regulatory approach to the industry similar to that of the West.