Turkey, Iran To Release State-Backed Cryptocurrencies On Heels Of Venezuela’s Petro Timelines: Geld-Bitcoin, Geld-Petro-Crypto

The governments of Turkey and Iran are both considering developing their own government-backed digital currencies, following on the heels of the Feb. 20 pre-sale of Venezuela’s national oil-backed Petro coin.

Feb. 22, two days after the Petro’s launch, Middle-Eastern news outlet Al-Monitor reported that Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy chair and former Industry Minister Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu is publically considering launching a “national Bitcoin” called the “Turkcoin”, described in his 22-page report on regulating the crypto market.

Tanrikulu’s report comes two weeks after a Feb. 7 CNN Turk interview with Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simse where he mentioned that the government would be preparing to release a national cryptocurrency.

Last November, the Iranian cyberspace authority, the High Council of Cyberspace (HCC), “welcome[d] Bitcoin” and announced that they were working with the Central Bank of Iran on a report on cryptocurrencies. On Feb. 21 the Central Bank of Iran said that it was actively working on a way to “control and prevent” cryptocurrencies in Iran.