Turkey Prepares to Launch a CBDC in 2023

The Turkish government plans to launch its central bank digital currency (CBDC) by next year. Turkey’s Presidential Strategy and Budget Office reportedly submitted the President’s Annual Plan for 2023 which discusses a CBDC.

The Central Bank of Turkey is reportedly planning to issue a CBDC next year. In the President’s Annual Plan for the next year under the subheading “Policies and Measures,” the plan states that a “blockchain-based central bank digital currency will be implemented” and the Central Bank of Turkey, along with the cooperation of the local Ministry of Finance and Scientific and Technological research institutions will be responsible for the implementing the plan. The announcement comes a year after the central bank announced in September 2021 that it was considering creating a CBDC to complement its existing payments infrastructure, a project entitled “Central Bank Digital Turkish Lira Research and Development.”

The official report says:

The Digital Turkish Lira system will be integrated with digital identity and FAST.

FAST is the payment system operated by the country’s central bank. The directive also states that the central bank is to carry out research and development efforts and testing of its soon-to-be-issued CBDC in collaboration with other banks. The launch of a CBDC may signal that the Turkish government revised its stance on digital assets. The Turkish Central Bank famously banned cryptocurrencies in April 2021. The central bank said in a statement that it would ban the purchase of goods and services via crypto payments. The regulation did leave some grey areas to be interpreted, in that Bitcoin, and other crypto deposits can still be made. Additionally, the new regulation still leaves it open for cryptocurrency transactions to be transacted on exchanges, given that these are not for “payments.” Despite a ban on cryptocurrencies, Turkey has seen a surge in cryptocurrency trading with more than a million trades per day realised. The increase in trading activity comes as the local currency, the Lira, fell to record lows, with citizens turning to cryptocurrencies in a bid to save their dwindling savings.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.