Turkey aims to make Istanbul global blockchain hub

The Turkish crypto industry is quite ready to bring Ethereum to Istanbul, the country’s commercial center. One of the most active nations in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space is Turkey, and its interest goes beyond simple market trends. It seeks to accomplish more and has organized notable events including ETHIstanbul, Blockchain Economy Istanbul, and Istanbul Blockchain Week.

According to a recent report, economist Erkan z believes that Turkey’s growing interest in cryptocurrencies is mostly driven by the country’s high inflation rate:

“Many people [in Turkey] think that they can no longer buy a car or a house within the classical financial system. For this reason, interest in crypto assets is increasing daily.”

However, he pointed out that because there aren’t any sound regulations to suit the needs of the ecosystem, the use of cryptocurrencies hasn’t yet fully flowed to blockchain startups or projects.

“Turkey should establish a legal infrastructure that will both protect investors and support blockchain and crypto assets as soon as possible,” Öz continued.

The thriving local crypto community has a new goal that unifies “Shibarmy” troops and Bitcoin maximalists: bringing DevCon 7, the biggest conference for the Ethereum ecosystem, to Istanbul. With the help of important local individuals, the movement quickly attracted a sizable following.

Turan Sert, the author of two books in Turkish about blockchain and DeFi, claims that despite the rapidly expanding popularity of cryptocurrencies, Turkey lags behind in terms of startups and innovations.

“We started late, but we are growing fast. The main reason for this is student clubs—the success of student clubs abroad and their resonance in Turkey,” Sert states.

Massive growth potential in Turkey

Turkey, a member of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), ranks 12th in in this year’s Crypto Adoption Index, as TheoinRise reported. The nation recorded $192 billion in crypto transactions between July 2021 and June 2022.

Seeing the massive growth potential, crypto exchange Binance also chose Turkey to launch its first customer service center in April this year, as TheCoinRise reported.