Turkey has inaugurated its first blockchain university center, called the “BlockchainIst center,” on Aug 3, 2018, according to local news outlet Daily Sabah.
The rationale behind the blockchain university is to minimize the market gap in expertise to utilize the blockchain technology in the secure tracking of digital transactions in various fields across the country.
The inauguration of the blockchain university was held at Bahçeşehir University (BAU). The blockchain institute was designed to use the same technologies as every other blockchain center globally. The center will help students, and entrepreneurs all over the country to carry out research that is related to blockchain and cryptocurrency.
The center’s director, Bora Erdamar, said that “BlockchainIST is set to be the most important center of research and development and innovation in Turkey in which scientific studies and publications are made in blockchain technologies.”
Edmar further stated that with BlockchainIst, Turkey might possess the chance to conduct useful research that will contribute to the ”Transformation of Humanity.” He also stressed on the importance of other sectors in the country like educational, government, business, etc., to cooperate with the institute to be able to conduct proper research that will yield positive results in the long run.
Meanwhile, some global universities have started including cryptocurrency related courses in their syllables such as distributed ledger technology, smart contracts, etc.
Notable examples of universities that have added cryptocurrency related courses in their syllables include Stanford University, the Voronezh State University (VSU), Don State Technical University (DSTU), and Novosibirsk State University (NSU) in Russia, and Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil.
Also one of the major university in Brazil, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, has started offering the country’s first Master’s degree in crypto-finance.
The director of BlockchainIst said that Turkey is trying to keep up with latest trend and technologies that are in vogue worldwide and that with more effort, the country might have the chance of becoming the leading nation in Blockchain technology.
Last year November, Turkish government took a harsh decision on Bitcoin, when some members of the state Directorate of Religious Affairs said that BTC is not in line with Islam.
However, in February, the deputy chair of Turkey’s Nationalist party movement proposed the creation of a national cryptocurrency which he called the “Turkcoin.”
