Ugur Ibrahim Altay, the Mayor of Konya, Turkey’s seventh-most-populous city, recently confirmed that the initial steps required to launch a cryptocurrency project called “city coin” had been completed.

Details regarding the city coin initiative will be announced during the Smart Cities and Municipalities Congress and Exhibition, which will take place in October 2020 in Konya. A major blockchain-focused initiative will also be introduced during the event.

Konya could become one of the only cities in the world to have its own digital currency, if the project is successful. The city’s own virtual token would allow the municipality to more easily perform its routine tasks and obligations. For example, the digital coin could be used for collecting sales tax in a more efficient manner. At present, specific details regarding Konya’s “city coin” project have not been shared publicly.

However, local sources said that more information regarding the project will be shared at the upcoming conference in October. The project’s long-term goal is to help Konya develop its own cryptocurrency-focused ecosystem.

Turkey has been actively involved in supporting the development of blockchain-related projects. In July 2019, the nation’s government said it was planning to launch its own form of “digital money,” which would be backed by the Turkish reserve bank. The development of Turkey’s digital currency is reportedly a part of the government’s 11th Development Plan which aims to turn Istanbul into a multinational mega-city for finance. Currently, it’s not clear whether Konya’s “city coin” will be a part of this particular plan.

Other jurisdictions are also planning to launch a state-backed digital currency. Christopher Giancarlo, an attorney and former business executive who previously served as the chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is leading the digital dollar project to create a virtual currency that will be fully backed by the American government.

While attending the Crypto Finance Conference on January 16, Giancarlo remarked: “The digitization of the US dollar. The creation of a US dollar digital currency that would enjoy the full faith and credit of the US government, that would be minted by the US government, by the federal reserve, and distributed through the traditional banking system.”

He added,

“[The digital dollar] would not be a stablecoin, it would actually be a digital dollar. Right now, the dollar comes in two different forms, comes in coin, comes in paper. We’re proposing a third form of the dollar, a digital dollar.”

Giancarlo argued that issuing a digital dollar will help preserve the US dollar’s importance in the global markets.

In April 2020, Istanbul will host its first-ever Turkey blockchain week, with the main event IstanBlock 2020 being held on April 9-10. You can find out more about the event, and sign up for updates at istanbulblockchainweek.com or join the Telegram community.

The post Major Turkish city to introduce its own cryptocurrency for settling everyday transactions appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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