Turkey’s Takasbank Announces Blockchain-Based Transfer System

Turkey’s Takasbank announced that its blockchain-based physical gold-backed transfer system is now live so let’s find out more about it in the upcoming cryptocurrency news.

Turkey’s Takasbank launched the BiGaDigital Gold to provide the banks with a blockchain-based system for the issuance, repayment, and transfer of digitized gold as we can read from the announcement on December 30. The BiGa system was initially announced in September 2019 which enables participating banks to easily use blockchain technology to transfer digital assets representing quantities of physical gold. Each asset represents a gram of gold that is stored in vaults of the Borsa Istanbul Turkish Stock exchange.

The BiGa project aims to ‘’establish an infrastructure that will allow execution of the transfer of dematerialized gold at certain standards with physical equivalents that are kept in safe custody by using blockchain technology as per the official website. Takasbank officials explained further:

“This platform distinguishes itself from many similar projects in the world by allowing the use of blockchain technology to transfer digital assets based on physical commodities, not having any value of its own, and ensuring full compliance with existing regulations.”

Takasbank launched the BiGa digital gold platform with the participation with several other Turkish Financial institutions including the state lenders Ziraat and Vakif along with the private lender Garanti BBVA and private and state banks including Albaraka Turk, Ziraat Participation and Kuveyt Turk. Takasbank is the top central clearing and settlement bank in Turkey which also provides central counterparty clearing services for BIST markets that are designated by the local financial regulatory agencies and other supervisory agencies such as the Capital markets Board of Turkey.

Following the announcement of the further plans for a national blockchain infrastructure, Turkey worked hard for steady growth in the blockchain projects both in the private and public sectors. In 2020 the annual Presidential Program and the Turkish President Recap Tayyip Erdogan explained that the government will finish testing its blockchain-based ‘’Digital Lira’’ in 2020. Earlier in September 2018, BIST developed a blockchain-based system that can improve financial data transfers in collaboration with Takasbank along with the Central Securities Depository of Turkey.