Turkey working on digital currency; pilots expected to finish by end of 2020

Turkey is working to issue a blockchain-based national digital currency.

Resmi Gazete, Turkey’s only official journal that publishes new legislation and official announcements, published a document Monday, which says that the first trials of digital lira should be conducted and finalized by the end of 2020.

Digital lira is planned to be issued by the country’s central bank to strengthen Turkey’s economy. "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," reads the document.

China is also expected to launch its digital currency in the near future, after five years of research and development. Last week, an association of over 200 German private banks called for a digital euro. The U.S. Federal Reserve is also apparently researching how to integrate digital currencies to its retail payments as it is hiring a manager for the initiative.