A booth of OKX cryptocurrency exchange is seen at Hong Kong Web3 Festival, in Hong Kong
A booth of OKX cryptocurrency exchange is seen at Hong Kong Web3 Festival, in Hong Kong in 2023. Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • OKX TR will offer three cryptocurrency pairs, including USDT/TRY
  • OKX's president noted that Turkey has a high crypto adoption rate
  • Turkey is a "very important and special market" for OKX, its president said

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX on Tuesday announced the official launch of its Turkey platform expansion, hailing the country as "very important and special market."

According to OKX TR, the localized version of OKX has the "lowest transaction fees in Turkey" and allows users to deposit and withdraw Turkish Lira from their bank account within seconds.

"Today, we are very proud and excited to introduce you to @OKXTurkiye, which is the product of our long work and meticulous planning," OKX TR chairman Mehmet Çamır wrote on X (formerly Twitter), as per a Google translation. "We aim to give you everything you need to easily step into the world of cryptocurrency," he added.

He noted that OKX TR has 24/7 customer support so users can ask for assistance anytime of the day.

OKX will offer the following crypto pairs for Turkish crypto users: USDT/TRY, BTC/TRY and ETH/TRY. OKX TR also integrated Turkish Lira fiat on-ramp, deposits and withdrawals in partnership with some of the country's top banks, including Fibabanka, VakıfBank, Ziraat Bankası, İş Bankası, Şekerbank and Türkiye Finans, Çamır said as per a press release.

OKX President Hong Fang told CoinDesk in an interview published Tuesday that Turkey is a crucial market for the exchange as it "ranks high in terms of crypto adoption and crypto transaction volume." Furthermore, there is "a natural tendency to look for value in Bitcoin in Turkey, particularly for wealth preservation," she added.

The outlet wrote in a 2022 report that cryptocurrency is considered a "savior for many individuals" in Turkey on mental and financial perspectives. One expert said Turkey has been quite used to take risks easily so it didn't come as a surprise that citizens were open to trusting a Turkish lira alternative.

Even Turkey's traditional banking industry is seeing a shift in crypto adoption as Akbank announced in December that it acquired local crypto firm Stablex as the bank's investment arm seeks to become a major player in the cryptocurrency space.

Another bank, Garanti BBVA, launched several crypto-related services since last year, including digital asset custody and crypto buying and selling.

Meanwhile, Turkey's central bank is also on a roll and is racing ahead of other countries in efforts toward a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Late in 2022, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) said it completed the first series of tests for a Turkish CBDC and it looks to run more tests for the project.

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