In Turkey, Bitcoin seems to be caught in a partisan dustup as a Turkish opposition party leader has voiced support for the digital currency. The aforementioned was after Friday morning ‘Diktat’ from Turkey’s freshly appointed central bank governor that banned any and all use of cryptocurrency.
Any cryptocurrency payments and fiat-to crypto onramp trasanctions will be rendered illegal as announced by the Central Bank of Turkey on Friday. Also, there is high prohibition on any direct or indirect usage of crypto in electronic money issuance and payment service.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the opposition leader in Turkey, came out in support of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general in a series of tweets:
“To whom did you consult the crypto decision, O ruler?” he asked, presumably referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been referred to as an authoritarian and a dictator. “I will sit down and consult with all the stakeholders of this issue.”
He later noted that after conversations with “stakeholders all day,” he came to the conclusion that crypto was the most likely sector for Turkey to produce “unicorn” companies worth over $1 billion. He added that the announcement demonstrates the ruling party has “no tolerance for young people.”