Turkey digital lira trials to conclude by end of 2020

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has instructed the Turkish government to finalize testing that will make its national central bank digital currency (CBDC) a reality by the end of 2020. The blockchain-based digital lira is expected to be issued as part of the 2020 Annual Presidential Program, allowing residents to make instant payments using the digital currency.

Turkey’s official journal, the Resmi Gazette, published the new bill that will pave the way for the CBDC: “The main objective is to establish a financial sector with a strong institutional structure that can respond to the financing needs of the real sector at a low cost, offer different financial instruments to a wide investor base through reliable institutions and support Istanbul’s goal of becoming an attractive global financial center.”

The main objective of this currency will be to establish a much stronger financial sector. The Lira has been struggling against digital currencies already, falling by as much as 60% in value as compared to BTC. It is hoped that creating a digital currency of their own will make transactions a lot easier, while also improving the overall strength of the Turkish economy.

The foundation of the currency will be developed using blockchain technology. It is hoped that the use of this technology will also help to make Turkey a global financial sector, and the use of this technology should help to make that goal a reality. It is expected that this technology will be used in a wide variety of other areas, including both public services and administration.

Turkey is not the only country looking to create its own digital currency. China is expected to launch the digital yen in 2020 after they spent five years on research and development of the new currency. In Germany, 200 banks have backed the idea of the digital Euro.

It is also reported that the United States Federal Reserve is looking into figuring out how to integrate digital currencies into the country’s economy. This plan could go as far as to create a digital dollar. A recent job post appears to support this conclusion.