Detained founder of Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Vebitcoin 'made 1.5m liras monthly'

The detained founder of Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Vebitcoin, İlker Baş, said that he made about 1.5 million liras monthly off of the market. The total trade volume of the exchange varied between 600 and 800 million liras monthly, Baş told police in a statement.

Monday April 26 2021 12:03 pm

Duvar English

The founder and CEO of the Turkish cryptocurrency market Vebitcoin, İlker Baş, said that his monthly income was 1.5 million Turkish Liras and that the market's monthly trade volume varied from 600 to 800 million liras.

Baş said in a statement to police that he made money through commissions on the Vebitcoin market, where he charged each transaction 0,02 percent commission.

"I used 15,000 liras for my family's living expenses, and the rest for the company," Baş told police.

More than 90,000 users trade 600 to 800 million liras in cryptocurrency on the exchange, Baş added.

Turkey's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) froze the Vebitcoin exchange after Baş was detained on April 23 and launched an investigation into the organization and its administration.

The Vetbitcoin investigation closely follows what is considered the greatest heist in the history of the republic, where Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Özer vanished with some $2 billion.