The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has made a major step forward with a research and development project that could see the Turkish lira go digital.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, CBRT announced the signing of memoranda of understanding with three domestic research and technology companies that will form the \u201cDigital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform.\u201d The pool of participants is expected to expand as the project moves forward.<\/p>\n
The three original technology stakeholders are Aselsan, a major defense corporation, Havelsan, a software and systems developer operating in the defense and IT sectors, and T\u00dcB\u0130TAK Informatics and Information Security Research Center.<\/p>\n
Project participants will aid CBRT in developing and testing the prototype digital lira network. While the announcement does not clarify the technological infrastructure underlying the project, it mentions the possibility that it will embrace \u201cblockchain technology, the use of distributed ledgers in payment systems, and integration with instant payment systems\u201d on a later stage.<\/p>\n