Turkish Central Bank Plans to Launch Digital Turkish Lira in 2023

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According to the annual plan,presented by the Office of Strategy and Budget of the President of Turkey, the country's central bank plans to launch its own digital currency next year.

The document states that the statea blockchain-based stablecoin will be implemented with the help of financial and research institutions with the support of the country's government. In September 2021, the Central Bank already announced that it was exploring the possibility of launching a digital Turkish lira in addition to the existing payment infrastructure.

The regulator noted that the digital currency willintegrated with the FAST payment system. The directive also states that the Central Bank will continue to conduct research, development and testing of the state cryptocurrency, collaborating with commercial banks.

However, the Turkish Central Bank adheres to strictpositions regarding digital assets. In April last year, the regulator banned the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services. Despite this ban, Turkish citizens can make transactions on cryptocurrency exchanges.

In addition, Turkey has seen an increasetrading volume of crypto assets – more than a million transactions per day. This is due to the fall of the local currency, the Turkish lira, so citizens are turning to cryptocurrencies in an attempt to preserve their savings.

At the same time, the Turkish government is friendlyrelates to blockchain and believes that its capabilities can be used to train and employ citizens. Recently, Turkish authorities announced the development of a blockchain-based e-Human project, through which it will be possible to exchange data.