Digital Turkish Lira Phase One Evaluation Report
The Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası (CBRT) published an English version of the report on the first phase of its digital Turkish lira testing (originally published in Turkish in December 2023). The project started in 2020 with a proof-of-concept (POC) that tested the applicability of various distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) to the digital currency. The study was successfully completed and followed by the establishment of the Digital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform with the participation of technology stakeholders. The first phase of the project focused on retail payments and involved the preparation of the technical work environment, the design and development of the digital currency system, the integration of a prototype digital identity system, the creation of a digital wallet application, and the simulation and testing of different scenarios for the issuance, distribution, online payment/transfer and redemption of the digital currency. The first phase also included pilot tests in selected locations to measure the system performance and user experience. The tests were successfully completed in the first half of 2023 and the first phase was finalized. The findings of the first phase will inform the next phases, which will involve more extensive pilot tests and the expansion of the collaboration platform with new participants.
