CEO On Stage at Istanbul Blockchain Week
Igor Telyatnikov shares his forward looking playbook for digital asset platforms, demonstrating how institutional exchanges, brokerages, and tokenization venues can reach scale while staying resilient to market cycles. Igor breaks down winning business models, from regulated spot/OTC venues to custody and payments rails, the economics behind liquidity and market-making, and how to use modular architectures, including matching engines, wallets, AML/KYC, and Lightning/RWA rails, to speed time-to-market. Igor also examines “compliance-by-design” roadmaps that anticipate policy shifts, plus practical approaches to risk, treasury, and settlement that institutions need before onboarding real volume. Attendees of this session left with a clear rubric for evaluating platform readiness, including security posture, throughput, resiliency SLAs, governance, and product fit, as the industry converges on interoperable, regulated infrastructure.
In 2025, Turkey has stepped firmly into a regulated digital asset era. On March 13, the Capital Markets Board (SPK) announced two critical communiqués (III-35/B.1 and III-35/B.2), establishing a two-tier licensing regime for Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs), stringent governance standards, capital adequacy rules, and custodial requirements including asset segregation, key management, and liquidity reserves. Turkey is also aligning with the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), aiming to bolster transparency and international compliance. Meanwhile, authorities have cracked down on illicit crypto activity, with stablecoin transfers now facing daily and monthly caps, and non-compliant platforms subject to delayed withdrawals of 48 to 72 hours and harsher sanctions for violating the travel rule. The crypto market continues to surge, with Turkey ranking fourth globally in trading volume, crypto revenues projected to reach around USD 2.2 billion in 2025, and a consumer penetration rate nearing 28 percent. These regulatory advances and growing market signals are positioning Istanbul as a maturing, institution-ready hub for digital asset innovation and investment.
