Turkish city, Konya, is developing crypto and blockchain solutions for its public services. Konya, the city of the world-famous poet Rumi, might not come to mind when talking about technology. Especially when talking about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Konya is known for its rich history, gorgeous mosques, and historical sites.

But that hasn’t stopped the Anatolian city from setting up its Science and Technology Valley under the umbrella of Konya Science Center. And building a team to apply blockchain to municipal services.

The news first comes from Konya Metropolitan Mayor Ugur Ibrahim Altay during a local smart city congress in Ankara on 16th January 2020. This Turkish city is looking for ways to develop a City Coin and create a blockchain-based financial ecosystem around it.

The head of Konya Science and Technology Valley Dr. Ali Osman Cibikdiken talks to Cointelegraph about the progress on the “City Coin” project. He said that the first thing their team of seven blockchain developers was commendable. They indeed look for ways to use blockchain technology for funding social programs. He is also an active advisor to several blockchain projects such as TrueFeedBack.

The project “City Coin” will enable the local government and other stakeholders to manage the reserve fund for social aid on the blockchain. At the same time, the city aims to launch a prototype within six months and go live within a year. Konya hopes to be a global model for local governments with this project. Cibikdiken said.

Blockchain Solutions for a Smart City

With a population of over 2.4 million, Konya has enough people to test out blockchain solutions in public services at a significant scale. On top of that, Konya has an edge when it comes to smart city applications.

According to the detailed report from the Konya Chamber of Commerce, the city has over 10 different smart city projects. From a payment system to use contactless credit cards in public transportation to a smartphone app to cover e-municipality functions, Konya is actively working on these projects. Konya even has an app called Mobile Mesnevi to deliver the best poems from Rumi in different languages. The blockchain-based City Coin project may be added in the future as a payment method for public services like shared bikes, e-buses, and smart transportation, among others.

Turkey at Full Throttle on Blockchain Adoption

Following the announcement of a national blockchain infrastructure, Turkey has accelerated its blockchain efforts. The country set plans for a Digital Lira in 2020. On the other hand, Turkish Takasbank launched the BiGa Digital Gold platform to provide a blockchain-based gold transfer system for the banking industry.

BlockchainIST Center, a university-funded center in Istanbul, recently announced plans to develop next-gen blockchain projects on Cornell Professor Emin Gun Sirer’s Ava Platform.

These kinds of positive developments make Turkey noticeable to global crypto exchanges. At present, major crypto exchanges have set up their local offices in the country.

As per the reports from last year, Huobi was the first followed by Binance. Recently, Huobi joined the Blockchain Turkey Platform to cooperate with the local ecosystem on blockchain development efforts.