Turkey Appoints Crypto and Blockchain Expert to Central Bank Committee Amid Growing Transaction Surge
Summary:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed Professor Fatma Ozkul, a cryptocurrency and blockchain expert, to the central bank's financial committee. Ozkul, a lecturer at Marmara University, joins the Monetary Policy Committee responsible for setting the base interest rate. The move follows a surge in cryptocurrency transactions in the country, with Turkey ranking fourth globally. The Turkish authorities are considering regulations for the crypto market, focusing on licensing and taxation to sidestep the Financial Action Task Force's grey list.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey has named Professor Fatma Ozkul, renowned for her expertise in blockchain technology and crypto assets, to the central bank's financial committee. Prof. Ozkul's appointment was revealed in a decree published on December 22, as reported by Bloomberg. Since 2012, she has shared her knowledge in the domains of accounting, finance, and auditing at Istanbul's Marmara University. Her scholarly pursuits also encompass blockchain and digital assets. She has written a book on the accounting of cryptocurrency assets in 2022, according to her academic CV.
Professor Ozkul is the latest addition to the Monetary Policy Committee of Turkey's central bank, a body responsible for determining the base interest rate to manage inflation. The Committee increased the national interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 42.5% on December 21, in response to the country's inflation rate exceeding 61.98% in November.
After his electoral victory in May, President Erdoğan assembled a new financial team. He designated ex-Goldman Sachs banker Hafize Gaye Erkan as the central bank's governor. In the same year, the central bank successfully piloted its digital currency, the Digital Turkish Lira.
The economic environment in Turkey has been conducive to the growth of cryptocurrency use. According to data from a report by blockchain analysis corporation Chainalysis, Turkey ranks fourth worldwide in terms of raw cryptotransaction volume. It recorded approximately $170 billion in activity from July 2022 to June 2023, trailing behind only the United States, India, and the United Kingdom. As a result of the surge in cryptocurrency transactions, Turkish officials are potentially examining regulations for the cryptosector. The focus would be on licensing and taxation measures to extricate Turkey from the FATF's 'grey list'. These forthcoming regulations are predicted to put in place specific licensing demands to prevent system abuse. The scope would range from capital adequacy rules to digital security upgrades, and from custody services to reserve checks.
Published At
12/24/2023 12:25:20 AM
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