Turkey works hard to make Istanbul home to global blockchain hype
Turkey works hard to make Istanbul home to global blockchain hype
The Turkish crypto and blockchain ecosystem is working hard to build during the bear market, according to local experts.
The people of the Turkish crypto ecosystem are very eager to apply the age-old words of wisdom “The bear market is an opportunity to build” to make Istanbul — the business hub of Turkey — home to the global hype surrounding Ethereum.
Turkey is one of the most active countries in crypto and blockchain, and its interest extends beyond market movements. Along with a considerable base of crypto investors, the local community consists of university clubs, Web3 startups, blockchain developers and academics. The country has hosted significant events like ETHIstanbul, Blockchain Economy Istanbul and Istanbul Blockchain Week and aims to achieve more.
However, he noted that the crypto adoption has yet to be fully translated to blockchain startups or projects because there are no healthy regulations to meet the needs of the ecosystem. “Turkey should establish a legal infrastructure that will both protect investors and support blockchain and crypto assets as soon as possible,” Öz added.
The thriving local crypto ecosystem has a newfound ambition that unites Bitcoin maximalists with “Shibarmy” troops — bringing DevCon 7, the largest conference for the Ethereum ecosystem, to Istanbul. Supported by key local figures, the movement reached large masses in a short time.
Nowadays, if you look at the Twitter accounts of the names in the Turkish ecosystem, you will see the hashtag “#DevconIstanbul” next to their names. The initiative is rooted in the digital world, but it didn’t take much to expand it into the physical reality — the last example being ETHIstanbul’s After Merge Party.
Sert explained that the success of crypto- and blockchain-focused student clubs in foreign events had great repercussions and contributed to the increase in the number of developers in Turkey.
DevCon is set to held in Bogota this year between Oct. 11 and 14 after several delays. Tansel Kaya, an academic at Kadir Has University and the CEO of Mindstone, emphasized the importance of bringing the event to Turkey for talented students who do not have the opportunity to attend such events.