Turkey’s National Bank announced December 29th Press release announcing successful first transaction involving digital lira.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) said it will continue to run a “limited closed-circuit pilot test” of the digital lira throughout the first quarter of 2023. The results will be made available to the public in a comprehensive evaluation. Report.
The digital lira is developed by the country’s central bank, so it can be considered a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
Today’s announcement does not comment on whether the CBDC will rely on blockchain, distributed ledger technology (DLT), or related technologies.
However, it appears that Digital Lira does indeed contain blockchain. Turkey’s central bank said: September Its digital lira “could be diversified into areas such as blockchain technology” [and] Use of distributed ledgers in payment systems. “
In October, the central bank said in its budget announcement that it would create “blockchain-based digital central bank money.” This is a statement that clearly confirms that Digital Lira is somehow dependent on blockchain technology.
Digital Lira will also integrate with non-blockchain services, such as digital identity tools and Turkey’s Instant and Continuous Funds Transfer (FAST) system.
Despite Turkey’s clear interest in developing CBDCs, the country imposes strict regulations on cryptocurrencies and public blockchains. In 2021, the country banned the use of cryptocurrencies for payments. It also introduced regulations requiring cryptocurrency companies to store extensive and long-term KYC data on users.
The country also introduced other drafts on crypto this summer and has made numerous arrests and confiscations in recent months.
