October 26, 2023: According to CoinTR, five senior officials from the financial regulatory agencies and the National Bank of Turkey have officially joined the global digital asset exchange CoinTR, and will respectively serve as the chief executive officer, Chairman of the board of directors, director and chief compliance officer and other core positions. They will be responsible for compliance and global development of CoinTR while making better use of blockchain and Web3 technology to empower the Turkish economy and create new drivers of economic growth in Turkey.
The official announcement from the Istanbul Trade Registry Office indicates that the directorate’s change has been completed and is now in effect. It is the first instance globally of high-ranking regulatory officials taking over a cryptocurrency exchange on such a large scale, assuming full responsibility for its operations. According to the official announcement from CoinTR, Şakir Ercan GÜL, the former Deputy Minister of Finance in Turkey, as well as the former Chairman of the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey, will assume the role of Chairman of the Board at CoinTR.During his tenure at the Ministry of Finance, Şakir Ercan GÜL has been committed to promoting legislative work related to cryptocurrency trading, which has somewhat accelerated the compliance process of cryptocurrency trading in Turkey.
Ali Eselioglu, former Deputy Executive Director of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, will serve as the CEO of CoinTR. It is reported that Ali Eselioglu just resigned from the position of executive director of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey a week ago. During his tenure at the Central Bank, he was primarily responsible for overseeing Turkey’s foreign exchange transactions, approving gold imports and exports, managing the national gold reserves and their transactions, as well as overseeing bond and bill transactions. With nearly 28 years of rich experience in traditional finance and banking, he also has a unique understanding and insight on Web3 and the digital economy. Ergun AKINCI, currently Chief Adviser to the Central Bank of Turkey, and Mehmet Emin KARAAGAC, former Deputy Governor of the Turkish National Bank (Vakiflar Bank) will serve as CoinTR Board Members. Yakup DEMİR, BDDK Senior Banking Former Chief Expert, Manager, Deputy Head of Department will serve as CoinTR’s Compliance Manager.
According to CoinMarketCap, CoinTR was founded in 2022, is a global cryptocurrency exchange located in Istanbul, Turkey, 90% of the product technology team is from the world’s Top3 cryptocurrency exchanges, its wallet team is composed of the HTX( formerly Huobi) wallet team leader and core members. At the compliance level, CoinTR has been filed with the Turkish Financial Crime Investigation Federation (MASAK), the Turkish regulatory body. In addition, CoinTR has also opened the OTC channel in cooperation with two Turkish national banks, Zirrat Bank and Vakif Bank, and is one of the few compliant exchanges in Turkey that fully met the regulatory requirements in this year’s compliance audit.
Şakir Ercan GÜL, Chairman of the Board of CoinTR, commented on joining CoinTR, stating, “Due to the influence of the macroeconomic environment and the increasing interest of the public in innovative technologies, Turkey has become one of the most active countries in cryptocurrencies and Web3, with nearly ten million crypto users, making it one of the countries with the highest penetration rate of digital assets globally. From the Turkish Central Bank’s digital currency to Turkey’s first metaverse government office, the Turkish government has been actively exploring the compliant development of blockchain technology and Web3 applications over the past two years, maintaining a lenient and inclusive attitude towards the blockchain industry. CoinTR hopes to collaborate with outstanding global industry partners to help more excellent enterprises and teams enter the Turkish market, jointly promoting the development of cryptocurrencies and the Web3 field in Turkey, creating new driving forces for economic growth in Turkey, and establishing Istanbul as a digital economic trading hub spanning Europe and Asia.”
Ali Eselioglu, CEO of CoinTR, stated in an interview with reporters, “As a fully compliant exchange that meets regulatory requirements in Turkey, CoinTR is dedicated to providing secure and stable trading services for global users. To achieve this, we have invited a team of core product technology and wallet security experts to join our company, including former Vice President of Huobi Group, former Head of Platform Development for Huobi Global, as well as individuals responsible for backend development, frontend development, and wallet development teams. Ninety percent of our product technology team is sourced from the top three exchanges globally, while 80% of our business team members have more than four years of industry experience, contributing to our globally leading product technology capabilities. CoinTR actively establishes strategic partnerships with leading global code security companies, anti-money laundering data service providers, and cryptographic hardware service providers, continuously constructing secure and reliable systems and services.”
Turkey is one of the most promising cryptocurrency markets in the world, and the rising inflation rate has largely driven the adoption of cryptocurrencies and Web3 technology in Turkey, which ranks fourth in the world in cryptocurrency trading volume, behind the United States, India, and the United Kingdom. According to data from a recently released report, the share of cryptocurrency investors among Turks aged 18 to 60 has grown by 12% over the past year and a half, from 40% in November 2021 to 52% in May 2023, indicating the growing interest and acceptance of cryptocurrencies among the Turkish public. Meanwhile, Turkey’s official currency, the lira, has lost more than 50 percent of its value against the dollar, making cryptocurrencies a safe haven against inflation. Cryptocurrencies are gradually becoming a “mainstream asset” in Turkey, which shows the huge development potential of the Turkish cryptocurrency market.
Earlier reports suggested that Turkish investors suffered significant asset losses during the FTX incident, prompting the Turkish government to be concerned about risks associated with overseas exchanges. There were rumors about establishing a national exchange, initially envisaged to facilitate digital asset trading in the securities market, allowing Turkish users to store digital assets domestically. However, considering the risk of spillover to the traditional financial market, this plan was not ultimately implemented. With the recent takeover of CoinTR by the Turkish regulatory authorities, it cannot be ruled out that Turkey is attempting another approach. This move follows the successful launch of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and the establishment of the first metaverse government office, marking another significant strategic move in the Web3 domain by the Turkish government.
Turkey is geographically located across the Eurasian continent, religious, and the Middle East region of the same origin. As a NATO member, its military is aligned with European countries, and it guards the straits of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It has always been a country that has been fought over in the game of great powers. Turkish GDP growth rate in 2022 reached 5.6% after excluding the impact of inflation, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The GDP data for the first half of 2023 shows that Turkey’s GDP per capita will exceed $10,000 this year, making it a large global economy.
The rapid economic development, relative political neutrality, and the strongest military power in the Middle East make Turkey the most stable country in the region. The geopolitical instability in the surrounding region, the imperfect financial system, and the inconvenience of US dollar trade settlement have made Turkey a substantial digital asset trading center in the region, and the use of cryptocurrency in the local area has developed rapidly and has great potential. In the near future, Turkey has the opportunity to become the world’s largest new Web3 capital after Singapore and Hong Kong, bringing together innovation, technology, and financial talents to unleash Turkey’s unlimited potential in the fields of cryptocurrency and Web3 technology.
About CoinTR
Established in 2022 and based in Istanbul, CoinTR was formed by a team of experienced top-level executives and product developers from reputable exchanges, Complying with official regulations and subject to supervision by MASAK, CoinTR operates as a domestic exchange integrated with state banks such as VakıfBank and Ziraat Bankası, as well as conducting global-scale operations.
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