Turkey Leverages Blockchain Technology for Secure Digital Identity

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• Turkey is planning to use blockchain technology to verify Turkish citizens during login for online public services.
• Fuat Oktay, the Vice President of Turkey, announced at the Digital Turkey 2023 event that citizens will be able to access e-wallet applications through a blockchain-based digital identity.
• The country’s plans for a national blockchain infrastructure date back to 2019, and its central bank digital currency test was completed in 2021 after several delays.

Turkey is taking its first steps towards leveraging blockchain technology to provide a more secure and accessible digital identity for its citizens. On the second of January 2023, Vice President Fuat Oktay announced at the Digital Turkey 2023 event that citizens would be able to use blockchain-based digital identity to access e-wallet applications. This is part of a larger effort to use blockchain technology to verify Turkish citizens during the login process for online public services.

The digital identity application will be used for the E-Devlet, Turkey’s digital government portal used to access a wide range of public services. Under the system, users will be able to keep their digital information on their mobile phones and access e-Devlet with a digital identity created in the blockchain network.

Turkey has been working on its blockchain ambitions since 2019, when it first announced plans for the national blockchain infrastructure. Since then, the country has conducted several proof-of-concept projects, however, actual implementation of its blockchain plans has been slow. In 2021, Turkey’s central bank completed its first CBDC tests, which were several months behind schedule.

The digital identity application is seen as a revolutionary move for e-government efforts, as it will enable citizens to access public services with a secure and reliable digital identity. The technology is expected to significantly reduce the amount of time needed to access government services and make the process more efficient.

Turkey’s foray into blockchain technology is a positive step forward in the country’s digital transformation efforts. With the digital identity application, Turkey is hoping to make the login process for online public services more secure and efficient for its citizens.