Data published by statistics firm Statista has revealed Nigeria is the leading country per capita for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption, with nearly one in three survey respondents indicating they used or owned crypto assets in 2020. According to the survey, the pre-existing prevalence of mobile phone based peer-to-peer payments has led many Nigerians to explore cryptocurrency. Statista noted that many Nigeria responded they had recently installed crypto payment applications on their devices. The findings also note that many Nigerians are exploring crypto assets for international remittances. Adoption in the country shows no signs of slowing, with demand for crypto assets …

As the country struggles with soaring consumer prices and an inflation rate in the double digits, in an announcement to members of Turkey’s Parliament central bank governor Naci Agbal revealed that “conceptual” research had been completed on a Turkish central bank digital currency (CBDC), and that practical tests for such a currency would begin in the latter half of 2021. “There is an R&D project initiated on digital money,” said Agbal, according to two local outlets. “Currently the conceptual phase of this project has been completed. We aim to start pilot tests in the second half of 2021.” While the …

Turkey’s crypto and blockchain ecosystem welcomed 2020 with big ambitions and a strong track record from 2019, which was its best year ever in terms of adoption. Following the release of Statista’s “Global Consumer Survey 2019,” which lists Turkey as a global leader by a wide margin in terms of crypto use, one major crypto exchange after another announced plans to set up shop in the country. Huobi and Binance established their offices in Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city and business center. Big players from Europe like Crypto.com and Bitpanda showed clear interest in the Turkish crypto ecosystem. The Turkish lira, …

According to an investigative report from RunRun.es, Venezuela intends to increase its use of Bitcoin to pay for imports to bypass financial sanctions imposed by the United States. RunRun.es, which was founded by Venezuelan investigative journalist Nelson Bocaranda, cited anonymous sources from the country’s central bank who claim that “payments to companies from allied countries such as Iran and Turkey have been made using Bitcoin.” It is unclear, what these imports consist of, however, Turkey and Iran currently provide the country food and fuel in exchange for gold. Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro's government has promoted its state-issued, purportedly oil-backed ‘Petro’ …

Bitcoin (BTC) is just a few thousand dollars away from its all-time high near $20,000 U.S. dollars. However, while much of the crypto industry watch Bitcoin’s price action in U.S. dollar terms, BTC has already achieved all-time high prices relative to numerous other world currencies. In an Oct. 22 tweet, Alistair Milne mentioned seven countries in which Bitcoin had already reached its all-time high relative to those countries' native fiat currencies. In the same tweet, he said Colombia and Russia would soon join the list. Bitcoin recently surpassed its all-time high against the Russian ruble earlier this month. The asset …

İstanbul Başakşehir, last season’s winner of the Turkish soccer league, has joined the Socios platform and will launch its own fan token ($IBFK) by the end of 2020. $IBFK, like other fan tokens in the Socios ecosystem, confers voting rights and rewards upon holders, and is designed to boost fan engagement and monetize various fan experiences, both online and offline. Token holders can vote in polls on club decisions and earn points that, once accumulated, can be cashed iin exchange for VIP game tickets or opportunities to meet club players. İstanbul Başakşehir is the third Turkish club to sign on …

The COVID-19 pandemic has served both as an x-ray onto existing vulnerabilities in the global financial system, and as an accelerator for destabilizing tendencies, including higher sovereign and consumer debt in emerging markets. At an online meeting of the Central Bank Governors' Club, hosted this week by Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina, representatives were unanimous in their expectations of the far-reaching consequences of the current crisis. At the meeting, the 26 central bank representatives that convened from Central Asia, the Black Sea region, the Balkan countries and beyond, also noted the pandemic-induced expansion of e-commerce, as well as digital …

Students enrolled in the class “Introduction to Cryptocurrencies” at Turkey’s Kadir Has University were the unexpected winners of Uniswap’s UNI token distribution on Sept. 17. İsmail Hakkı Polat, one of two lecturers of the class, told Cointelegraph Turkey that all students who, as part of a class project, participated in listing and swapping a token on Uniswap received 400 UNI. In Turkey’s local currency, it was valued at roughly 12,000 liras, or around $1,570, which accounts for nearly half the yearly education fee for some students. Taught by Polat and Tansel Kaya, two well-known names in Turkey’s cryptocurrency and blockchain …

Users can now use their ERC-20 BiLira tokens to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and USDT on Bittrex Global. The announcement states that there are currently 20 million BiLira tokens in supply. TRYB tokens are minted at the time of deposit, and an ID verification process takes place before the issuance. Users then redeem their tokens for fiat currency and transfer them on the network using the BiLira platform. Speaking to Cointelegraph Turkey, the BiLira team explained that emerging countries like Turkey have a different perspective on cryptocurrencies due to their fragile economies and liquidity problems with the U.S. dollar. BiLira predicts …

Turkish football club Trabzonspor is the latest team to issue their own fan tokens using the Blockchain voting and rewards app, Socios.com, which will be available via the Chiliz exchange. According to the announcement, $TRA token holders will be able to vote in various polls and earn rewards for their engagement with the football club. Rewards could include VIP stadium attendee status, and even the ability to meet with players once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. Socios’ app will also enable users to compete to become the #1 fan in their region or country. Sinan Zengin, general manager at Trabzonsport, …

Major Turkish crypto exchange BTCTurk has become the major sponsor of both the women's and men's Turkish national soccer teams via an agreement with the Turkish Football Federation, Cointelegraph Turkey reported on Aug. 20. According to the official announcement, the 28-month long agreement apparently makes BTCTurk the first cryptocurrency platform to sign a sponsorship with a national soccer team. Turkey's national soccer teams don't use sponsor logos on their uniforms, but a BTCTurk logo will be placed on players' training jerseys. Last year, BTCTurk struck a sponsorship deal with the Turkish Super League team Yeni Malatyaspor. BTCTurk CEO Özgür Güneri …

Rampant inflation is affecting Turkish residents’ confidence in the nation’s lira fiat currency. According to a Reuters report on Aug. 14, locals are dumping lira, converting it to dollars and buying gold. Even with market interventions and reassuring stories about monetary stability coming from the government, the locals’ faith in the lira is on a downward trajectory. Inflation is currently at 11.8% and has overtaken the amount of interest offered for savings at banks. One resident was quoted as saying he had bought gold as a safe-haven asset: “I think it is the best investment right now so I converted …