Turkey

The cybercrime department of the Turkish police has arrested four people following the loss of $2 Billion from a cryptocurrency exchange. The arrested people included the head of Vebitcoin, one of the sites that became inaccessible leading to loss of funds. The culprits were rounded up in the province of Mugla southwestern Turkey.

The price of Bitcoin has dropped by about 4% following the news by the central bank of Turkey to ban cryptocurrency payments starting from April 30.

The inflation in Turkey is currently at about 16.2% and this is corroding the lira’s value. The Turkish citizens are now frustrated with the economic turmoil in the country and are now seeking safe haven in cryptocurrencies. Small businesses have now started to accept payment in Bitcoin, and this has pushed its price high to make a new record high of over $63,000.

Popular football clubs are looking to establish as close communication with their fans as possible. For this reason, many of them have issued their own fan tokens to get their supporters involved in the club activity. Now, the last year winner of the Turkish Süper Lig is planning to have their token as well.

The lack of clear investor rights in Bitcoin (BTC) and other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies and the absence of aboveboard regulations to protect rights are concerning public authorities, and upon request, the Capital Markets Board of Turkey has taken action to review and regulate digital currencies and intermediaries.

Turkey plans on creating its own virtual currency and deploying blockchain into government systems. The government financial authority has included a central bank-issued cryptocurrency in its new 2019 –2023 strategic economic roadmap.

Even though the cryptocurrency market is a highly volatile field, Turkish investors prefer Bitcoin over the national currency, the lira. In autumn, trading volumes in Turkey alone rose by 37%, proving that Bitcoin’s popularity was not affected by the bear crypto market trend.

According to what is coming out of Washington, it seems like no deal has been struck between the Trump administration and the government of Turkey, led by President Tayyip Erdogan, continuing what is already a shaky financial situation.

Two influential Turkish political forces, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have recently come up with the idea to create the first blockchain-based Turkish digital currency, similar to Bitcoin or Litecoin, called Turkcoin.