Turkey Names Blockchain Expert to Central Bank Committee

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has named Professor Fatma Ozkul, a prominent specialist in blockchain technology and crypto assets, to the position. This appointment was made by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey. This appointment, which will take effect on December 23, 2023, represents a substantial integration of blockchain and cryptocurrency knowledge within the framework of the nation’s monetary policy.

According to President Erdoğan, the hiring of Professor Ozkul is a component of a more comprehensive plan aimed at reorganizing Turkey’s economic team. After achieving victory in the general election held in May, Erdoğan took the initiative to establish a new economic team. As part of this process, he appointed Hafize Gaye Erkan, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, to the position of governor of the central bank. This strategic decision is in line with Turkey’s growing emphasis on digital banking, which was shown by the fact that the first testing of its digital currency, the Digital Turkish Lira, was successful in the year 2022.

Since 2012, Professor Ozkul has been teaching accounting, finance, and auditing at Marmara University in Istanbul. His subject areas of expertise include auditing, accounting, and finance. Blockchain technology and digital assets have been heavily included in her academic and research endeavors, culminating in the release of a book on crypto asset accounting in the year 2022. When Professor Ozkul takes up her new position on the Monetary Policy Committee, she will offer her substantial knowledge and experience in digital finance to the process of establishing benchmark interest rates, which is an essential instrument for controlling inflation in Turkey.

The political and economic climate in Turkey has offered favorable conditions for the use of Bitcoin. Chainalysis, a company that specializes in blockchain analytics, reports that Turkey recorded nearly 170 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency transactions between July 2022 and June 2023, placing it in fourth place worldwide in terms of raw transaction volumes. Because of the recent spike in cryptocurrency activity, the Turkish government is considering the possibility of enacting laws for the cryptocurrency industry, with a particular emphasis on licensing and taxes. The objective is to reduce Turkey’s status on the “grey list” maintained by the Financial Action Task Force and bring it into conformity with global financial norms.

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