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Bitcoin

The Turkish President welcomed Nayib Bukele to Ankara for an official state visit. Anyone expecting a Bitcoin talk left disappointed.

Bitcoin (BTC) took more than just a beating in the markets. The orange coin got the cold shoulder as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed his Salvadoran peer Nayib Bukele in the capital of Turkey to talk about a number of topics. While Bitcoin failed to be a talking point, it did not stop the Twitter rumor mill from going into overdrive.

As part of the state visit, Bukele and Erdoğan kicked off with an official ceremony. Shortly afterward, they inaugurated the new Salvadoran embassy before agreeing on six deals covering the economy, trade, defense, diplomacy and education.

The trade deals seek to increase trade volume between the two countries Turkey to $500 million in 5 years. Trade volumes for 2020 and 2021 were $27 million and almost $50 million respectively.

Mainstream media outlets watched closely to see if Bukele would attempt to orange-pill Erdoğan. However, there was no mention of Bitcoin or cryptocurrency during Thursday proceedings.

That did not stop Twitter from speculating and deceiving audiences about the nature of the encounter. A coordinated news burst made by fake Twitter accounts imitating popular accounts @Deltaone, @Zerohedge, and a Bukele parody account @LaDictatore simultaneously announced that Turkey would announce Bitcoin as legal tender by February 2022.

The announcement was false. LaDictatore’s account has since been suspended but the screenshot of their announcement lives on:

In the hours following the fake news, the Bitcoin bulls regrouped to pump the price to within touching distance of $43,000 before falling off a cliff to $38,000 this morning.

As the Turkish Lira continues to struggle, analysts expected Bukele to make the case for Bitcoin. Given that the Turkish ruling party recently held a meeting in the metaverse, the tide may be turning. And if any discussion did happen Thursday, it happened behind closed doors.

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The Turkish government’s plans for cryptocurrencies draw a stark contrast to its central bank digital currency intentions.

Turkey is eager to become a blockchain hub as a country with one leg in Europe and another in Asia. However, the same passion doesn’t apply to cryptocurrencies, as Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdoğan reiterated recently.

Erdoğan hosted a question and answer event in Mersin, Turkey with youth from across the country. An attendant referred to the Digital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform announced last week, and asked if the central bank would embrace cryptocurrencies. He also asked Erdoğan about his opinions on crypto.

“We have absolutely no intention of embracing cryptocurrencies,” answered the president, adding:

“On the contrary, we have a separate war, a separate fight against them. We would never lend support to [cryptocurrencies]. Because we will move forward with our own currency that has its own identity.”

Binali Yıldırım, Turkey’s former prime minister and Ak Party deputy chairperson, followed up by explaining that cryptocurrencies require strict supervision due to their potential risks. “It’s like a sale of a fictive future,” he said.

Turkey first announced plans for a national blockchain infrastructure in 2019. Since then, the government and the local authorities have taken a pro-blockchain stance. The government shared plans for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) with tests planned for late 2021.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey made a big step towards its CBDC goals by establishing the Digital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform with three local technology companies.

However, President Erdoğan’s latest comments on cryptocurrencies mark a possible end for Turkey’s crypto-friendly era, in which several global crypto exchanges like Binance and Huobi set up operations in the country.

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