Major crypto exchange Huobi becomes a member of the Blockchain Turkey Platform to cooperate with local players on blockchain efforts. Five months after officially entering the Turkish market, Huobi joined the Blockchain Turkey Platform as a "Platinum" member, the global crypto exchange announced on Jan. 15, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph Turkey. Founded by the Turkish Informatics Foundation in 2018, the Blockchain Turkey Platform (BCTR) is an independent, non-profit organization that aims to create a healthy blockchain ecosystem in Turkey. The platform has members from banking and finance, venture capitalism, technology, and crypto industries. Huobi has become …

In advance of its mainnet launch, Ava Labs has partnered with BlockchainIST Center in Turkey to create blockchain-based products for daily use. BlockchainIST, Turkey’s first university blockchain center, partnered with Cornell University’s Emin Gün Sirer's Ava Labs to develop DeFi products on the Ava Platform. The press event took place on Jan. 6 at Bahcesehir University in İstanbul, Turkey. BlockchainIST Founder and Director Bora Erdamar told Cointelegraph that Bahçeşehir University postgraduates and Istanbul Blockchain School students needed a solid consensus architecture to develop DeFi and other blockchain-based products, and Ava Platform is the perfect fit for them: "Our partnership with …

Capital Markets Board of Turkey has plans to regulate crypto transactions, according to local sources. Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB), the regulatory body overseeing securities markets in the country, is developing a guideline to observe, audit, and regulate the crypto markets in the country, major Turkish media outlet Hurriyet reported on Jan. 4. Public authorities in Turkey have concerns regarding the protection of investors in crypto markets. The government entrusted CMB with the development of a regulatory framework for crypto markets, according to the report. Per the request by the government, CMB plans to ramp up its efforts to …

Turkey's Istanbul Clearing, Settlement and Custody Bank (Takasbank) announced that its blockchain-based, physical gold-backed transfer system is now live. Turkish Takasbank launched BiGA Digital Gold to provide banks with a blockchain-based system for the issuance, repayment and transfer of digitized gold, according to an announcement on Dec. 30. The BiGA system — first announced in September 2019 — enables participating banks to use blockchain tech to transfer digital assets representing a quantity of physical gold. Each asset represents a gram of gold that is physically stored in vaults of the Borsa Istanbul (BIST) Turkish stock exchange. The BiGA project aims …

Mobile payments service MenaPay announced support for Twitch tipping with their MenaCash stablecoin. Blockchain-based payments service MenaPay updated its mobile app to add support for Twitch donations, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph Turkey on Dec. 27. Twitch viewers are now able to use their MenaPay mobile app to tip their favorite Twitch players while watching their streams with MenaCash, a USD-pegged stablecoin built by the same team. This move comes weeks after MenaPay let streamers use MenaPay app to collect donations on a blockchain-based environment. Per the release, the digital gaming industry grew into a giant online …

Binance, the second-largest exchange by daily trading volume, has extended trading capabilities for the Turkish lira (TRY) and added a new trading pair for the lira and the Russian ruble (RUB). Binance users can now trade Tether (USDT) against the Turkish lira (USDT/TRY) and the Russian ruble (USDT/RUB). According to an official announcement on Dec. 25, the exchange opened trading for the new pairs on Binance on Dec. 25 at 8:00 AM UTC. In addition, Binance Turkey’s community manager told Cointelegraph that the exchange has added order book trading for all of its Turkish lira trading pairs: BTC, ETH, XRP, …

Iran’s President has proposed to create a Muslim cryptocurrency as one of a number of means to confront the economic dominance of the United States. Speaking at an Islamic conference in Malaysia on Dec. 19, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called Muslim nations to strengthen financial and trade cooperation and to cut their reliance on U.S. dollar, according to a report by The Associated Press (AP). New Muslim cryptocurrency to confront “U.S. economic hegemony” As Rouhani argued that U.S. economic sanctions are the “main tools of domineering hegemony and bullying” of other nations. Rouhani put forward the establishment of a special …

Global crypto exchange Huobi completes its executive pursuit in Turkey by appointing Alphan Gogus, a veteran in crypto and finance, as the new general manager for Huobi Turkey. A new manager for a growing market Global crypto exchange Huobi has brought on Alphan Gogus as the general manager for Huobi Turkey, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Dec. 11. Alphan Gogus is a well-known figure in Turkey's crypto industry, which is showing rapid growth with the recent expansion of global crypto exchanges like Huobi and Binance to the market. Prior to his role at Huobi Turkey, Alphan …

Major crypto exchange Binance is looking for managerial staff to establish its office in Turkey, according to job postings on LinkedIn. Binance listed a total of five open positions on its LinkedIn company page as of Dec. 6 to establish a local presence in Istanbul, Turkey. The company is seeking managers for its finance, compliance, marketing, and PR divisions. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao recently detailed the exchange’s plans for Turkey in an interview with Cointelegraph. He described Turkey as "a vibrant country that has illustrated one of the strongest demands and fast-growing interest in crypto," adding that they would build …

At a recent B2B event in Turkey, suit-clad men and women from traditional financial institutions and the public sector stood in line to take a selfie with a guy in a hoodie. That guy, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, found time to attend the annual Turkish Capital Markets Summit in Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 19. Between his speech at BlockShow Asia 2019 and the controversy over alleged false reporting, it’s been a busy month for CZ. After his fireside chat on stage, where he praised Turkey as one of the fastest-growing countries in crypto and officially announced that Binance is …

When thinking of countries that are ahead of the curve in crypto adoption, Turkey might not be the first place that springs to mind. However, Statistica's Global Consumer Survey for 2019 shows that a fifth Turkish residents are acquainted with crypto and have been exposed to it in some form or another. If the figures are true, 20% is the highest proportion of all the countries in the world. Flying under the radar, Turkey has undoubtedly become a crypto giant, and with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently announcing that testing of the digital lira is to be finalized in 2020, …

Binance cryptocurrency exchange has added support for buying Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies with the Turkish lira through its local digital wallet partner Papara. The exchange unveiled the addition on its website on Nov. 15, one week before CEO Changpeng Zhao's (CZ) visit to Turkey. According to the website, Turkish users are now able to exchange lira for BTC, Ether (ETH) and XRP through their Papara digital wallets. Upon a request from Cointelegraph, Binance declined to comment beyond acknowledging the soft launch of Turkish Lira support. Per the official website, support for Turkish Lira is limited to just buying cryptocurrencies, …