Turkish Stablecoin Issuer Predicts New Blockchain Regulations

The co-founder of BiLira (TRYB), the first stablecoin pegged to the Turkish Lira, is predicting that Turkey will announce a new regulatory framework for blockchain “within the next year.”

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Vidal Arditi, BiLira’s COO and co-founder, predicted that the updated apparatus will be designed “to protect the average guy and the investors and not inhibit the growth of the sector.”

Arditi also emphasized that Turkey’s government has been heavily investing in the country’s blockchain future, asserting that Turkey’s leaders have been heavily “backing blockchain associations, blockchain student clubs, blockchain accelerators and such,” adding:

“I'm sure we'll see a lot more projects in the crypto space one year from now in Turkey, and we’ll see how the government will respond.”

Turkey at inflection point for DLT

Arditi described Turkey as at “a point of inflection” regarding blockchain, noting that the central bank “publicly declared that they would like to have a cryptocurrency or a distributed ledger technology-based currency to transact values.”

BiLira’s COO stated that the stablecoin is openly supported by Turkey’s top government agencies, stating: “we've actually been really in close talks with both the central bank [and] the banking regulator’s department.”

Adding:

“Both the central bank and the Banking Regulation [and Supervision Agency] have saluted us and have told us that they want to see us succeed and they are here to help.”

Despite the government’s permissive stance regarding blockchain and stablecoins, Arditi noted some challenges in seeking assistance from local legal professionals experienced with distributed ledger technologies, or DLT.

“Blockchain and cryptocurrency is a relatively infant ecosystem and requires a lot of knowledge aggregations, which Turkey as some have and at some points really lacks,” he said.

BiLira grows quickly

Since launching last year, BiLira has grown to services more than 1,500 users and tokenized $14 million worth of Turkish Lira (TRY).

In recent months, crypto trading platform BTSE launched a spot listing for TRYB against Tether (USDT), offering a direct route for ordinary Turks to access exposure to USD amid the country’s exacerbating monetary crisis.

At the start of May, Turkey’s lira fell to record lows as the country’s banking regulators imposed restrictions on foreign transactions denominated in TRY in a bid to reduce speculation and short selling against the currency.

BiLira to Issue on AVA

On June 8, BiLira announced that it will begin issuing on AVA once the project has completed its forthcoming mainnet launch, in addition to continuing to issue TRYB as ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum (ETH).

Arditi stated that his team had begun building on AVA several months ago to avoid “many of the problems that we see on Ethereum right now, especially concerning finality and scalability.”

Arditi added that BiLira plans to continue launching on new crypto ecosystems, stating:

“We are hoping to expand our presence and network depending on what types of blockchain and networks arise in the upcoming months and years.”