Turkish City works on a new cryptocurrency to serve citizens better

Konya, a major city in Turkey, is developing a new cryptocurrency to serve its citizens better, Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay announced this during a local congress in Ankara on Jan. 16, Sputnik Turkey reported.

Altay revealed that they are working on blockchain technology and exploring the possibility of issuing a "City Coin."

"I don't know if we could be the first municipality to issue its own money. We are ready to cooperate on this matter. We are working on whether we can create an ecosystem by giving our social aids especially with this, or can we trade with the companies of the municipal subsidiary. Perhaps we can create our own ecosystem if we can get the taxes collected by the municipality with these coins in the future," he said (via online translation).

Dr. Ali Osman Çıbıkdiken, head of Konya Science and Technology Valley, told Cointelegraph that the cryptocurrency is intended to facilitate a blockchain-based local ecosystem in Konya.

“The cryptocurrency we are currently developing will be used in social aid programs, municipal corporations' activities, public transport, and environmental services," he said. "The project will also see the development of a payment system to enable crypto in many municipal services."

Konya is major city with 2.4 million residents - enough people to test out the blockchain project at a significant scale.

The city is very competitive when it comes to technological advancement. In fact, according to the Konya Chamber of Commerce, they have several smart projects which include a payment system that allows contactless credit cards in public transportation and an app that covers e-municipality functions.

Meanwhile, Huobi has joined the Blockchain Turkey Platform (BCTR) to collaborate with local entities on blockchain initiatives. The move made the company the newest member of the non-profit organization that aims to foster the blockchain ecosystem in the country.

“Huobi supports the growth of crypto and blockchain ecosystem globally. Turkey has the potential to become a pioneer in blockchain technology, both regionally and globally. By joining The Blockchain Turkey Platform, which drives local efforts in a cross-industry approach, we aim to exchange our global expertise and knowledge with key local players to boos the blockchain system,” Huobi Turkey General Manager Alphan Gogus explained.

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