CryptoSlate had the alternative to take a seat down with Erhan Korhaliller, Founder & CEO of EAK Digital, the web3 communications and occasions company behind some of the business’s most artistic IRL occasions, as he places plans collectively for the a lot anticipated Istanbul Blockchain Week.
Why is the Turkish market so sizzling for crypto?
Turkey has been preventing excessive inflation and rates of interest for a while now, a very long time earlier than it began seeping into the worldwide market. The official inflation fee of Turkey presently sits at 78.6% for the month of June; this has led Turkish folks to look for various belongings during which to protect and broaden their wealth.
Turkey additionally has a really profitable cell gaming market; in a current report, it was acknowledged that 79% of adults in Turkey play video games, so individuals are used to swapping out and in of tokens and cash, and I believe Turkey will play a key function in the upcoming surge of web3 gaming that we’re going to see in the subsequent few years.
What sectors of the web3 business are significantly sizzling in Turkey proper now?
Turkey has an enormous quantity of retail merchants; this has led to many of the main exchanges constructing a Turkish presence, together with Binance, Huobi and FTX, and extra. In my discussions with exchanges, I’ve been advised commonly that Turkey is in the high 2/3 markets for buying and selling on their platforms. In addition to the worldwide exchanges, there are large nationwide exchanges presently posting large volumes, similar to BTC Turk and Paribu.
Turkey has at all times been an enormous market for cell gaming, and there continues to be an especially giant gaming neighborhood in Turkey which can be ripe to be onboarded into web3. We plan to allow that at Istanbul Blockchain Week at our W3E championships, the world’s first Web3 gaming championships.
What impressed you to organise Istanbul Blockchain Week?
Other than my Turkish heritage, as the founder of EAK Digital, a web3 artistic communications company since 2017, we now have partnered with many occasions as their PR accomplice in addition to labored with high-profile purchasers similar to Binance, XX Network, Theta Network, Neo, and so forth., as our company grew our community grew with it. In 2019, I made a decision to discover the Turkish web3 occasions panorama and I used to be very disillusioned at what I discovered.
There have been no main occasions happening in Turkey and the occasions I may discover had questionable audio system and characters in the house usually recognized of shilling and questionable initiatives. In addition to this, the Turkish economic system was struggling while adoption in the nation was exploding. This impressed me to launch Istanbul Blockchain Week, the premier web3 occasion in Eurasia, during which we invite actual builders, educators, thought leaders and high enterprise folks each in Turkey and internationally to launch an occasion that Turkey will be actually proud of.
What is the present regulation for crypto in Turkey?
In Turkey, it is unlawful to make use of crypto as a type of cost nevertheless it is not unlawful to commerce cryptocurrencies. Aside from this, they’re hasn’t been clear regulation pointers set by the authorities. President Erdoğan mentioned the laws concerning crypto belongings is prepared for the parliament, with no clear date as to when this might come into apply. We are hopeful for rules that enable for the house for innovation and progress to proceed in the crypto asset house in Turkey.
What may shock some folks is that President Erdogan, after assembly with Tesla firm CEO Elon Musk, introduced that TOGG, the home automobile model of Turkey, will cooperate with the Avalanche blockchain. He additionally acknowledged that Turkey needs to be one of the main international locations in the Metaverse universe in January of this yr.
What are the key spotlight occasions of the Istanbul blockchain week?
The week kicks off with a 1 day NFT Day devoted to all issues NFT/Metaverse and gaming, this shall be a extremely curated lineup of leaders of the NFT house inside Turkey and Internationally. We then transfer into the principal occasion of the week, IstanBlock, which is a two-day occasion that can function Turkish authorities audio system, giant multinational firms, and of course, web3 heavyweight thought leaders.
Following the principal occasion, we’re extraordinarily excited to be launching the W3E Championships, the world’s first Web3 gaming championship. We have a devoted 600-seat E-Sports area in Istanbul for the finals of the championship, which incorporates some of the high video games in web3. Gamers should enter the qualifying tournaments for the championships happening in August and September earlier than the finalists descend to Istanbul for one last epic showdown.
Who are some of the headline names planning to talk at Istanbul Blockchain Week?
At this yr’s Istanbul Blockchain Week, we’re specializing in a quantity of totally different areas in the business cut up throughout the totally different occasions. You can count on a complete host of audio system from leaders in web3 alongside mainstream web2 manufacturers which can be breaking into web3. Its been fascinating to observe the likes of Tiffanys and Adidas just lately broaden into web3 and we need to host occasions that facilitate such partnerships.
In addition, at IstanBlock, the flagship occasion of Istanbul Blockchain Week, attendees can count on main figures in web3 and legendary figures like David Chaum, a legendary cryptographer and pioneer alongside high enterprise capital funds and establishments. We will even have a robust NFT/Gaming/Metaverse presence at NFT Day and the Web3Esports Championships with audio system anticipated who’ve labored on some of the largest video games AAA+ video games to affix the dialog.
Why ought to folks attend Istanbul Blockchain week?
Istanbul Blockchain Week represents the greatest alternative for the worldwide neighborhood to enter the rampant Turkish crypto neighborhood, and construct relationships with merchants, influencers, thought leaders, authorities, and enormous multi-national corporations wanting for companions to interrupt into web3.
At Istanbul Blockchain Week, we now have a spread of occasions which can be appropriate too many alternative profiles of attendees. Whether you might be an NFT fanatic, a significant enterprise/financial institution pivoting to web3, or an avid gamer, there is one thing for you.
Istanbul is an iconic historic metropolis and the pleasure for web3 is palpable, you solely need to spend half a day in Istanbul to see how giant it is right here. Seemingly wherever you look there is a reference to crypto from promoting in the airport, native trams, and buses to bodily change retailers outdoors the well-known Grand Bazaar.
The Turkish individuals are some of the most devoted and enthusiastic about web3 and cryptocurrency and the occasion is a significant alternative for initiatives who need to attain a brand new receptive viewers or meet their present Turkish neighborhood.
