Having understood the fundamental threat created by this new era, which I addressed in my previous article, we can outline the hypothesis behind our answer to the question: “What should we do now?”
Our short answer is: The Turkish lira should gain a programmable and strategic monetary infrastructure, issued on a digital-asset foundation built on blockchain technology.
Why would people prefer local deposits when globally accessible, higher-yielding stable-dollar investment pools are available?
At node101, we have worked for many years with global actors shaping blockchain technologies. We share the stage with founders, C-level executives, and decision-makers from this ecosystem, and have the opportunity to exchange ideas with them directly in various meetings.
For some time, we have been analysing the risks that the new digital-dollar system could create for the rest of the world and for Türkiye. To test the soundness of these analyses, we ask questions directly of U.S.-based global decision-makers whenever the opportunity arises.
At a meeting held earlier this year, I asked Tomasz Stańczak, the former director of the Ethereum Foundation, one of the most important institutions in the Ethereum ecosystem, the following question: In a future where SWIFT can provide every member bank with access to stable dollars through blockchain-based payment infrastructure, and where investors holding stable dollars are offered high yield returns, what becomes of the deposit bases built on local sovereign currencies?
Stańczak said that he saw no serious barrier to hyper-dollarisation and believed this process could take place globally through stable dollars and Ethereum.
I posed a similar question to Jeremy Allaire, founder of Circle, the issuer of USDC, one of the most widely used stable dollars in the world today. Allaire stressed that this is not only a financial rupture but also a technological one. He said that Circle visits regional hubs such as Istanbul to explain to public- and private-sector institutions that they need to adapt to these new financial technologies, and that Circle wants to support them through this transition. Otherwise, he said, economies may inevitably be defeated by time and technology.
All of this shows us one thing: for global economies, the threat is no longer a distant possibility; it is a near, tangible, and serious reality.
It should not be forgotten that if Turkish-lira deposits weaken, the economic foundation of the Turkish lira weakens as well. If that foundation weakens, financing for roads, bridges, hospitals, restaurants, industrial facilities, and every other kind of local investment comes under greater pressure. Türkiye should therefore not be merely a follower of the new digital-dollar regime; it should become a conscious, strong, and strategic partner in this transformation.
The Digital Turkish Lira should be part of this new system, not left outside it
This infrastructure should add value not only to Türkiye’s economy, but also to its economic relationships with allied and friendly countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East—especially its trade relationship with the United States. Within the digital financial architecture of the 21st century, the Turkish lira should be positioned not merely as a local currency to be protected, but as a strategic instrument that gives Türkiye new political power at the level of monetary policy.
A blockchain-based Digital Turkish Lira infrastructure could give the Turkish lira a true technological foundation for circulation and settlement for the first time. In this respect, it is a candidate to become one of Türkiye’s most important technical infrastructure projects of the 21st century. It should be designed as an infrastructure that meets the needs of both the public and private sectors and, through its programmable structure, enables the development of new financial products, derivative instruments, and digital assets.
This system should be accessible while also being manageable, when necessary, in a manner compatible with Ankara’s supervisory and oversight capacity. It should be designed to facilitate the flow of external resources into Türkiye and to establish a secure bridge between the Turkish lira and global digital-asset markets.
The Turkish lira should have a strong presence on a network where stable dollars, stable euros, tokenised real estate on the Arabian Peninsula, tokenised Russian gas, Chinese goods, and similar real-world assets can be settled. With an economy approaching $1.5 trillion, a population nearing 90 million, a strong military, and institutional capacity, Türkiye can become a centre that inspires confidence in this new digital financial order.
Such an infrastructure could be a powerful tool not only for economic growth, but also for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, unregistered money transfers, and illicit capital movements. The supervisory capacity of institutions such as MASAK, the CMB, and the BRSA could become more effective internationally through blockchain-based transparency and traceability. The blacklists, risk lists, and compliance mechanisms established by Türkiye could gain the capacity to produce results not only locally, but also regionally and globally.
In a world where east-west and north-south trade is increasingly conducted through digital assets, Türkiye should not be merely an observer of these flows. The Turkish lira, Turkish assets, and Türkiye’s financial institutions should become active participants in this new network economy.
A New Economic Network for the Turkish Lira
The Digital Turkish Lira is not merely a digital representation of money; it should be a strategic infrastructure choice that determines Türkiye’s place in the new global financial architecture. The aim is to move the Turkish lira beyond being a currency that remains on the defensive in the face of technology, and place it at the centre of an economic network with growing circulation, use cases, and international reach.
This transformation should be approached with a strong legal framework, security, privacy, financial stability, and the principles of public oversight in mind. If designed correctly, the Digital Turkish Lira can help Türkiye protect its financial sovereignty while building stronger connections with global capital, trade, and digital-asset markets.
In my next article, I will examine the use cases that make this infrastructure’s economic contribution concrete: the areas in which the Digital Turkish Lira can create value, from foreign trade and cross-border payments to export finance, from tokenised assets to public payments, and from SMEs’ access to finance to next-generation capital markets. The real question is not whether this technology will arrive, but what role Türkiye will assume in it.