Turkey Puts Central Bank Digital Currency on New Economic Roadmap

Published at: July 10, 2019

The government of Turkey has included a central bank-issued digital currency in its 2019–2023 economic roadmap published on July 9.

As per the 11th Development Plan from the Presidency of the Turkish Republic, “Blockchain-based digital central bank money will be implemented.”

In addition to a central bank digital currency, the development plan lists blockchain adoption in the operations of transportation and customs. It further notes that public services and administration can be improved by emerging technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay presented the plan to the parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission, saying, “We will attach importance to our energy and development policies during the period of the development plan.”

As indicated via a report by Al-Monitor in early 2018, Turkey has been considering issuing a national cryptocurrency for some time. According to an interview in February 2018, economist and then-Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said: 

“We are planning to start our own work on digital currencies. We place high importance on digitalization.”

Some in the government, however, reportedly remain skeptical toward cryptocurrencies at large, with several ministers comparing such projects to pyramid schemes.

A paper from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted in late June that central banks would start issuing digital currencies in the near future. The IMF cited a central bank digital currency pilot program in Uruguay as precedent, along with a number of projects — in the Bahamas, China, Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, Sweden and Ukraine — as being close to testing.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Statistica's Global Consumer Survey for 2019 suggests that around 20% of Turkey’s residents are cryptocurrency investors. According to the survey, Turkey had the highest per capita rate of cryptocurrency ownership among the surveyed countries.

Countries around the globe have launched a number of blockchain-based infrastructure initiatives. For instance, the mayor of Seoul, South Korea, announced in May that the government would implement blockchain technology in its citizen ID cards. The mayor also noted that Seoul already has blockchain-based administrative services, such as mobile e-voting and car sales.

Tags
Technology
Blockchain
Cryptocurrencies
Government
Central Bank
Ai
Transport
Turkey
Related Posts
Geopolitical fallout of central bank digital currencies
China’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment system is at the forefront of news around central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. As China will be the first nation to launch a CBDC, the changes a digital yuan promises for global economics and the role this plan plays in pushing for a “currency war” keeps its project in headlines. For its part, the proposed currency not only poses a threat but is intended to threaten, and potentially unseat, the U.S. dollar for the top position of global reserve currency. However, to understand how successful a digital yuan may be in this endeavor, it’s …
Technology / Sept. 17, 2020
You can’t talk about blockchain and not bring up CBDCs and stablecoins
Ever since the publication of Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper back in November 2008, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” the term “blockchain” has been synonymous with digital currencies in the sense of the underlying technology that allows for the transfer of value, peer-to-peer. What’s interesting is that the term “blockchain” is not used once in that white paper. The purpose of the paper was to propose a solution to the core issue of double-spending a digital currency, which is the representation of a transfer of value directly between transacting parties, without the use of a central trusted third party. Currencies …
Technology / April 17, 2021
Russian Ministry Wants to Test Crypto and Blockchain in Regulatory Sandboxes
Amid regulatory uncertainty for cryptocurrencies in Russia, a federal ministry introduced legislation that would legalize crypto and blockchain within a special regulatory environment. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has reportedly prepared a draft law that would allow the testing of cryptocurrency and blockchain developments within a special regulatory sandbox. Sandbox to unlock blockchain and crypto testing in eight industries According to a March 24 report by local news agency Izvestia, the draft law was introduced to the State Duma — the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia — on March 17. Izvestia reports that …
Technology / March 24, 2020
CBDC activity heats up, but few projects move beyond pilot stage
Government-issued electronic currency seems to be an idea whose time has come. “More than half of the world’s central banks are now developing digital currencies or running concrete experiments on them,” reported the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, in early May — something that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. The BIS also found that nine out of ten central banks were exploring central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, in some form or other, according to its survey of 81 central banks conducted last autumn but just published. Many were taken aback by the progress. “It …
Adoption / May 16, 2022
What is the global financial crisis and its impact on the global economy
When the financial system or the economy as a whole undergoes a rapid and large decline, it is said to be in a financial crisis. Financial assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate often see a sharp and significant decline in value during financial crises. They can also be identified by a decline in credit availability and a loss of faith in financial institutions like banks. Related: DeFi vs. CeFi: Comparing decentralized to centralized finance Financial crises can be caused by a variety of factors, including: Overleveraging: When people, businesses, and governments take on excessive debt, they put themselves at …
Adoption / Feb. 5, 2023