Institutions Gather in Istanbul to Debate Custody and Stablecoins

Institutions, regulators and market participants met at the Hilton Bomonti in Istanbul for Istanbul Blockchain Week 2026, a two-day event that centered on infrastructure, custody, stablecoins and tokenization. The inaugural Istanbul Institutional Markets Summit set the agenda for discussions between traditional finance firms, crypto platforms and government agencies.

Organizers and speakers cited Chainalysis figures presented at the event showing nearly $200 billion in annual on-chain activity in Türkiye, making it the largest crypto market in the Middle East and North Africa and roughly four times the on-chain volume recorded in the UAE.

Panels outlined conditions financial institutions require before moving assets on-chain. Presenters identified three non-negotiables for institutional entry: strict custodian regulation, full custodial insurance and audits by one of the Big Four firms. Nick Coombs, managing director at BitGo MENA, argued that trading, storage and security should be combined into reliable platforms rather than left for clients to assemble.

Regulatory briefings explained technical and legal criteria for platform authorization. TÜBİTAK has issued standards for IT and wallet infrastructure tied to 2024 amendments to Capital Markets Law No. 6362. Under those rules, Turkish authorities will require a separation between trading venues and custody providers. Regulators said they will classify digital assets case by case by reviewing whitepapers and observing actual use.

Fundraising and token issuance were discussed in sessions with venture and protocol investors. Panelists warned against issuing tokens primarily to raise quick capital and recommended launching tokens only after clear user adoption, value accrual and equity support. Speakers advised longer-term business plans, selective capital sourcing and strict lock-up and vesting terms to limit early sell-offs.

Stablecoins featured as a practical tool for institutions. Delegates described current demand for stablecoins in central counterparty settlement, capital mobilization and faster, lower-cost cross-border payments. Multiple stablecoins were compared to holding several fiat currencies, while participants expressed a preference for integrated infrastructure to reduce operational friction.

Representatives from the Turkish government presented projects and experiments. Buğra Ayan, head of the IT department at the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, described in-house language models deployed at CİMER to sort about 15,000 daily submissions and surface urgent cases within seven minutes. He also outlined trials of running AI agents on-chain via OpenCLI, the acquisition of a blockchain domain by a state body and a roadmap for post-quantum encryption. Officials pointed to tokenizing yield-bearing assets and agricultural supply chains as near-term use cases, while noting past frauds in agri-tech as a reason for cautious steps.

Delegates characterized the conference as focused on operational and legal requirements for institutional participation rather than retail speculation or consumer products. Panels and briefings concentrated on custody standards, regulatory structure and settlement mechanics that market participants will need to address if they move more activity on-chain.