Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey does not want to be overwhelmed by the digital revolution. Concerned about the rise of cryptocurrencies and then metavers, the Turkish government has decided to take the lead. After the strong method, it’s time for consultation. Chronicle of a delicate recovery.
The Turkish president wants his ticket for metavers
As a reminder, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the president of Turkey since May 21, 2017. He leads the country with the political party of AKP – the Justice and Development Party. On January 25, a summit meeting was held at the Presidential Palace. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the policy to be followed towards metavers. These new digital environments have a highly strategic value for the government. Indeed these new virtual territories are beyond the control of the central power and cryptocurrencies circulate there freely.
Erdoğan urged his party officials to work on the subject and make new proposals to him. All in order to organize a forum as soon as possible. After the ban and censorship, it is time for dialogue with the crypto ecosystem. Anticipating the statements of their president, Turkish leaders had organized the previous week a first meeting in the metaverse. On Monday, January 17, a virtual meeting had thus gathered prominent members of the AKP scattered across the country.
“I believe that virtual meetings based on the metaverse will develop rapidly and will become more and more important in our lives”.
Turkey is at a crossroads: it must develop the crypto and metaverse sector but keep some form of control over it. Difficult balancing act on the part of Erdogan.
The strategic and political stakes are not virtual
In December, the Stratcom 2021 took place in Istanbul. It gathered about 100 speakers from 30 different countries and more than 3000 participants. The topics discussed were: communication strategies and diplomacy in the digital age, metavers, disinformation and new media as well as trends in new technologies. It is clear that this summit has allowed the Turkish government to become aware of certain realities.
Indeed, Turkey has recently announced that it is concerned by the purchase of virtual lands in the metaverse and especially on OVR.
Many lands in the historical part of Istanbul have been sold in the OVR metaverse. Turkish authorities are worried about this interference from foreigners.
The government of Turkey does not like the fact that foreigners can buy historic districts of ancient Constantinople! Hence the joint need to support and regulate the metaverse market.
“Technological and digital progress has legal, economic and societal aspects. The AKP aspires to develop policies regarding cryptocurrencies and social networks that aim to protect citizens while stimulating Turkish innovation capabilities.”
Turkey is now standing on a ridge. Encourage initiatives around metaverse and cryptos but don’t get overwhelmed by decentralization. Yes to blockchain technology but not at any price. Freedom of speech, currency and sovereignty are classified as sensitive topics around the Bosporus.
The Turkish government is sending reassuring messages to the crypto community. Mustafa Elitaş even plans to settle the dispute with Binance quickly. We’ll be following this upcoming forum on metavers closely… What if it was Turkey that offered us the first big surprise of this year 2022?
