How it works in Turkey
Yes, you can pay your team in Turkey in stablecoins with Toku. Salary is set, withheld and paid in Turkish lira as Labour Law 4857 requires, and because the Central Bank bars using crypto in payments, Toku confirms for each person how a stablecoin element can be offered before the first payment.
Paying employees
Article 32 of Labour Law No. 4857 requires wages in Turkish currency, so the salary is paid in lira first. The Central Bank's 2021 regulation bars using crypto assets directly or indirectly in payments, so any USDC element for an employee is arranged only in a form Toku confirms for that person. (Sources: Labour Law No. 4857, article 32 (mevzuat.gov.tr); Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments (2021))
Paying contractors
Contractors can invoice in lira or US dollars, and residents may freely hold foreign currency earned from services to non-residents in a foreign-currency bank account. Because the Central Bank's ban on crypto in payments is general, Toku confirms for each contractor whether and how USDC or USDT settlement can be offered. (Sources: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Invisible Transactions Circular (May 18, 2026); Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments (2021))
Salary is set and taxed in local currency. Employees who opt in have their net pay, once paid, converted into USDC, and contractors are settled in USDC or USDT, where the local rules allow it. Toku handles the conversion, the compliance checks and the tax and payment reporting, and confirms the arrangement for each person before the first payment.
How Turkey treats crypto and stablecoins
The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye defines crypto assets as intangible assets that are not fiat money, electronic money, a payment instrument or a security, and the Capital Markets Law, as amended in 2024, defines a crypto asset as an intangible asset created and stored electronically using distributed ledger or similar technology. (Sources: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments (2021); Law No. 7518 amending the Capital Markets Law, Official Gazette, July 2, 2024)
The Central Bank defines crypto assets as intangible assets that are not fiat money, scriptural money, electronic money, a payment instrument or a security. Its Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments, published on April 16, 2021 and applied since April 30, 2021, says crypto assets cannot be used, directly or indirectly, in payments. (Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments (2021))
Under the same regulation, payment service providers may not build business models that use crypto assets in payment services or e-money issuance, and payment and e-money institutions may not intermediate fund transfers to or from crypto platforms. (Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments (2021))
Law No. 7518, in force since July 2, 2024, brought crypto asset service providers under the Capital Markets Law. They need permission from the SPK to be set up and to operate, must identify their customers under the anti-money-laundering law, and a platform based abroad that targets people resident in Turkey, for example through a Turkish-language website or local marketing, is treated as an unauthorised provider. The SPK's implementing communiqués took effect on March 13, 2025, and as of November 9, 2026 the SPK still publishes only a provisional list of firms in operation, saying that being listed does not mean a firm is authorised. (Sources: Law No. 7518 amending the Capital Markets Law, Official Gazette, July 2, 2024; Capital Markets Board: communiqués on crypto asset service providers published (March 13, 2025); Capital Markets Board: provisional list of crypto asset service providers in operation)
Since June 28, 2025, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) caps stablecoin withdrawals through Turkish platforms at USD 3,000 a day and USD 50,000 a month, and the limits may be doubled where Article 24/A(1) of the Measures Regulation is applied. (Source: MASAK General Communiqué No. 29, Official Gazette, June 28, 2025)
Local rules for paying employees in Turkey
Article 32 of Labour Law No. 4857 requires wages, bonuses and similar entitlements to be paid in Turkish currency, at the workplace or into a bank account, and pay agreed in a foreign currency may be paid in lira at the rate on the payment day. The same article bars paying wages by promissory note, coupon, an instrument claimed to represent legal currency, or in any other form. (Source: Labour Law No. 4857, article 32 (mevzuat.gov.tr))
The labour ministry says workers cannot be paid in dollars because Article 32 requires Turkish currency, and that employers with at least five workers must pay everything they pay workers in a month through banks. (Source: Ministry of Labour and Social Security: Labour Law FAQ)
For income tax, wages include money and payments in kind given for work and benefits that can be expressed in money, and the payers listed in Article 94, such as companies, must withhold income tax when they pay wages. (Sources: Revenue Administration: Income Tax Law No. 193, article 61 (wages); Revenue Administration: Income Tax Law No. 193, article 94 (withholding))
Local rules for paying contractors in Turkey
Under the Central Bank's Invisible Transactions Circular of May 18, 2026, residents of Turkey may freely use foreign currency they receive from non-residents for services, sell it to banks or keep it in foreign-currency bank accounts. When they sell it to a bank, the bank passes at least 35% of the foreign currency on to the Central Bank and pays the seller the full lira equivalent. (Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Invisible Transactions Circular (May 18, 2026))
Independent professional work done on one's own account, without being subject to an employer, produces self-employment earnings, and companies and other listed payers must withhold income tax when they pay self-employment fees. (Sources: Revenue Administration: Income Tax Law No. 193, article 65 (self-employment earnings); Revenue Administration: Income Tax Law No. 193, article 94 (withholding))
A foreign provider that pays Turkish residents in crypto may also need to consider the Capital Markets Law, which treats a platform based abroad that targets Turkish residents as an unauthorised crypto asset service provider. (Source: Law No. 7518 amending the Capital Markets Law, Official Gazette, July 2, 2024)
Ways to pay people in Turkey, compared
How the common ways to pay someone in Turkey compare. The Toku row describes how Toku works; coverage and the arrangement for each person are confirmed before the first payment.
| Method | Employees | Contractors | What to keep on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local payroll and bank transfer in TRY | Salary paid in local currency, with tax and contributions withheld. No stablecoin option. | Paid in TRY or another fiat currency to a bank account. | Payslip or invoice, payment confirmation and any tax withheld. |
| Sending USDC or USDT yourself | Doesn't cover employees on its own: salary still has to be set, withheld and paid under local payroll rules. | You handle the payment, foreign-exchange, tax and reporting rules in Turkey yourself, and some payment rules there may restrict it. | The TRY value on the payment date, the exchange rate used, wallet addresses and transaction hashes. |
| Toku | Salary set, withheld and paid in TRY through Toku's employer of record, with a USDC option for net pay arranged as described on this page. | Invoices in TRY (or USD where local invoicing rules allow it), settled in USDC or USDT where Toku confirms the route for that contractor, with approvals and payment records in one place. | Contracts, invoices, payment records and tax documents kept with each payment. |
Tax and reporting
Wages include payments in kind and benefits that can be expressed in money, and payers withhold income tax on wages and self-employment fees. In a 2022 private ruling to one taxpayer who bought Bitcoin on a continuing basis for non-resident individuals, the Revenue Administration said the fees earned were commercial income to be declared on the annual income tax return. (Sources: Revenue Administration: Income Tax Law No. 193, article 61 (wages); Revenue Administration: Income Tax Law No. 193, article 94 (withholding); Revenue Administration private ruling on income from brokering Bitcoin trades (August 9, 2022))
A bill submitted on March 2, 2026 proposed a tax on crypto purchases and sales, and the Plan and Budget Committee's version set a 0.03% crypto transaction tax and a final withholding tax on gains made on SPK-authorised platforms. The bill was adopted as Law No. 7577 on April 2, 2026, but the enacted text published by parliament contains no crypto provisions, so neither tax became law. (Sources: Grand National Assembly: bill 2/3560 amending certain laws; Grand National Assembly: Plan and Budget Committee report on bill 2/3560 (No. 259); Grand National Assembly: text of Law No. 7577 (April 2, 2026))
Recent changes
- July 2, 2024: Law No. 7518 took effect, bringing crypto asset service providers under the Capital Markets Law and SPK licensing. (Source: Law No. 7518 amending the Capital Markets Law, Official Gazette, July 2, 2024)
- March 13, 2025: The SPK's two communiqués on setting up and running crypto asset service providers took effect. (Source: Capital Markets Board: communiqués on crypto asset service providers published (March 13, 2025))
- June 28, 2025: MASAK General Communiqué No. 29 took effect, with stablecoin withdrawal limits of USD 3,000 a day and USD 50,000 a month on Turkish platforms. (Source: MASAK General Communiqué No. 29, Official Gazette, June 28, 2025)
- April 2, 2026: Law No. 7577 was adopted without the crypto transaction tax and crypto withholding proposed in the bill. (Source: Grand National Assembly: text of Law No. 7577 (April 2, 2026))
- May 18, 2026: The Central Bank issued a new Invisible Transactions Circular, replacing the 2000 one, which provides that residents may freely dispose of foreign currency earned from services to non-residents. (Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Invisible Transactions Circular (May 18, 2026))
What the official sources leave open
The official sources leave these points open. Where one affects a payment, Toku confirms how it is handled for each person before the first payment.
- Whether the Central Bank's ban on using crypto in payments reaches a foreign payer sending crypto to a Turkish-resident contractor, and how it would be enforced against either side.
- Whether a foreign payroll or contractor payment provider paying Turkish residents in crypto could count as an unauthorised crypto asset service provider under the Capital Markets Law.
- How crypto received as wages or fees is valued in lira for income tax, and how an individual's gains on crypto are taxed today. We found no general Revenue Administration guidance.
- Whether a new crypto tax bill will be introduced, and when Turkey will start crypto-asset reporting under the OECD framework (CARF).
How Toku pays your team in Turkey
Employees hired through Toku’s employer of record in Turkey have their salary set, withheld and paid in local currency, with the USDC option for net pay arranged as described above through stablecoin payroll. Whether Toku can support a hire in Turkey is confirmed before an offer. Contractors are paid through contractor management, which keeps invoices, approvals and USDC or USDT payment records together. Toku confirms the arrangement for each person before the first payment.
For the practical steps, see how to pay contractors in Turkey. Compare costs on the pricing page and estimate transfer costs with the FX savings calculator.
Toku pioneered this approach: founded in 2020, it started with token payroll and is now an employer of record and global payroll provider in 100+ countries, paying teams in local currency or stablecoins. About Toku.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules on crypto, wages and foreign exchange change often and depend on the facts of each arrangement, so confirm your situation with a qualified local adviser before you pay anyone in crypto or stablecoins.