Turkey is one of the most active markets in both the blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency industry, according to Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

"Turkey plays a leading role in this field, giving it the chance to lead financial technology developments," Zhao was cited as saying by Anadolu Agency (AA). "If Turkey takes the right steps, it will become a very important actor in the field of financial technologies in the near future," he added.

According to information compiled from the U.S.-based cryptocurrency market monitoring company CoinMarketCap data, currently, there are 4,849 cryptocurrency units and 20,850 cryptocurrency exchanges where the transactions of these currencies are performed.

The total size of the cryptocurrency market, which was $125.6 billion in January this year, increased by 59% and reached $200 billion as of November.

In addition to the increase in market size, both companies and governments are working on blockchain technology and digital currencies, which constitute the technological infrastructure of cryptocurrencies.

On the sidelines of an event in Istanbul last week, Zhao was cited as calling Turkey as a vibrant country that has illustrated one of the strongest demands and fast-growing interest in crypto.

He suggested that Turkey has quickly accepted crypto in just the last year as the country faced economic fluctuations, which correlates with global economic markets but twice the rate from its neighboring European countries.

STATE EFFORTS TO EXPAND MARKET

Zhao said that they did not have any detailed information about the Bank of China's efforts on cryptocurrencies. "We are ready to support the efforts of central banks and other enterprises on blockchain technologies. The Bank of China's digital currency project is a good development for the industry," he noted.

Zhao stressed that China cares about the development of blockchain technology but does not have any approach to the spread of cryptocurrencies, adding that all states, especially China, have a positive attitude towards blockchain technology.

He noted that the states' efforts on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology would allow the cryptocurrency market to grow further in the near future.

He also pointed to some people's trust issues with cryptocurrency. "Those with trust issues have no knowledge of blockchain technology. Once they understand the operation of this technology, they will find that the blockchain is reliable," he continued. "You do not have to trust anyone in blockchain technology because there is only you and a network. The operations on the network are performed by software containing mathematical formulas. At this point, it is possible to say that there is a structure that we can easily trust. As people become familiar with blockchain technology, their confidence in the system will enhance."

DIGITAL CURRENCY TO REPLACE PAPER MONEY

Paper money will be replaced by digital currency in the near future, he further suggested, noting that there is no use of paper money in China.

He also said the money used in China is a digital currency, although it is not based on blockchain technology. "People pay through QR codes using their phones and do not use any physical money. There is no doubt that all physical money in the world will be replaced by digital currency adapted to blockchain technology," Zhao stated, stressing that they have an impartial approach toward the industry as Binance.

"We are not against any coins and work in this field. If Facebook's Libra project reaches a significant number of users, we would be happy to support Libra. We want to increase the number of users of all coins. Because more people's interest in cryptocurrency and use will be a useful development for the whole industry," he said. "When phones and computers were first released, they were not thought to be sold all over the world. But today they are sold and used all worldwide. Blockchain technology will also be used globally in the near future."