Central Bank of Türkiye Reports First Payment Transactions on Digital Lira Network – Finance

The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) has carried out the first payment transactions on the digital lira test network. The monetary authority intends to continue further testing in 2023 and plans to invite banks and fintech companies to participate in the trials.

Turkey expands participation in the Digital Lira project and focuses on studying economic and legal aspects

The Turkish Monetary Authority has successfully carried out a first payment transaction on the Digital Turkish Lira Network, according to notice on Thursday. The operations were carried out as part of studies during the first phase of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project.

The CBRT also said it will continue to conduct pilot testing with technology stakeholders on a limited scale and in a closed environment in the first quarter of next year. The results of these tests will be disclosed to the public in a comprehensive assessment report, she promised.

The Turkish central bank also wants to expand the collaboration platform for the digital lira in 2023. Selected banks and financial technology companies will be included and advanced phases of the pilot study will be presented to further expand participation, the regulator detailed, stating:

With this in mind, the CBRT will continue to conduct tests for authentic architectural configurations developed in areas such as the use of distributed ledger technologies in payment systems and the integration of these technologies with instant payment systems.

The bank also emphasized that the review of the legal aspects of the CBDC showed that “digital identification is crucial to the project.” For this reason, the CBRT intends to prioritize studies on the legal and economic framework of the digital lira as well as its technological requirements.

The potential issuance of a “blockchain-based” version of the Turkish lira was the first called in President Recep Erdogan's annual program in November 2019. Two years later, the CBRT in-depth research into the matter by establishing the Digital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform to facilitate the development and testing of the CBDC with technology stakeholders.

Do you think the Turkish central bank will increase its efforts to introduce a digital Turkish lira? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens' quote: "Being a writer is what I am, not what I do." In addition to crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.

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