SPECIAL INTERVIEW: Groundbreaking statements from Efe Bulduk

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization (BTC) has managed to hold above $100,000 for a long time. Despite the uncertainties created by the US tariffs on the global economy, as well as Israel's attack on Iran, the BTC price was trading at $105,000 at the time of writing.

However, this stability in the BTC price has not helped most altcoins at all. The Bitcoin dominance in the market is still at a very high level, and there is no movement in most altcoins. So how much longer will this situation continue?

Efe Bulduk, an economist and one of the leading figures in Turkey's crypto sector, spoke exclusively to Coinkolik at the Istanbul Fintech Week held last week. Answering our questions across a wide range of topics from stablecoins to tokenization, and from altcoins to crypto adoption, Bulduk made striking statements.

I had attended the Istanbul Fintech Week in previous years, but I don't remember a Web3 program this intense. Almost all panels this year are hinting at Web3 technologies. How do you see this situation? Should stakeholders in the crypto sector hope for something from this scenario?

We are entering a period in which crypto and Web3 have come of age in the world. Once upon a time, we were all looked at as crazy. But now we see that people in the world are building their careers in this field and putting money here. So as a result of this, there are a lot of banks at this event. On the American side, there was a relief in the industry with the regulations coming to a point and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins' crypto-friendly statements. Now, companies in Silicon Valley are more comfortable coming here. Banks and traditional financial institutions in Turkey are also more comfortable.

How will this affect us? This isn't going to bring a lot of enthusiasm to people in crypto like it has been in the past. Remember, it used to be. Tesla was announcing that it would keep some of its assets in Bitcoin, the price was flying. We are no longer in that kind of world. That's why I'm constantly talking about the paradigm shift on social media. Do you know what kind of world we are in now? We are in a world where we have more peace of mind, we can invest and we are sure of the direction we are going, but we are earning less than in the past. In the past, the road was very foggy, it was unclear where we were going. But now our path is clear, we will arrive in Antalya. But not today, but tomorrow. We see evidence of this with the involvement of banks and other traditional financial institutions.

The only reason why there are so many altcoin investors

We particularly see that cryptocurrency investors in Turkey are stuck in altcoins. Investors are fed up due to altcoins that are not moving at all. So how can we grow cryptocurrency adoption in Turkey independently of altcoins?

We are a poor nation. We are a nation with limited savings. I don't say this to insult the country or its people. It's not a tribute. That's why I say this: For this reason, there are many altcoin investors. For this reason, people want to turn the corner from altcoins as soon as possible. For this reason, these problems are experienced. From here on, the issue of how to increase crypto investors and how to turn them into a qualified investor is again based on a long answer.

It takes time for the investment culture in Turkey to settle down, and this has only just begun. If you remember, before 10 million investors invested in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, we did not have investors in Borsa Istanbul. Therefore, we were also discussing how we could increase the number of investors in Borsa Istanbul. The main reason for this is that there is a social security system in Turkey. Since countries like America do not have a social security system, people gladly invest. You didn't need to invest in us, that's one. Second, there is no money to invest. For this reason, people were not investors in Borsa Istanbul. We have become accustomed to investing in crypto, and it has spread to this basis with IPOs on Borsa Istanbul. Now people are reading, writing and educating themselves in the field of finance. It's a process of gaining an identity for yourself.

"Turkey is a country doomed to dollarization"

Turkey is a country that seems to be doomed to dollarization. In other words, we are not a nation that keeps our own money when the Turkish lira is not given very high interest on deposits. We know this from bitter experiences that we have paid the price for in the past. We can't keep the money because it loses its value. Therefore, if we start spending stablecoins in Turkey and there is stablecoin integration, then it will fully answer the question you asked. Then more people come to crypto. Because if you create a world where they can easily buy and sell stablecoins 24/7 and use these stablecoins as a means of payment in a taxi or at the grocery store, you will attract a segment that is not interested at all. He is also today's exchange office customers.

The previous Biden administration was more inclined towards central bank digital currencies than stablecoins. However, the incoming Trump administration definitely does not want CBDCs and believes that the tracking of transactions by central banks violates privacy. However, we also know that many countries, including (Digital Turkish Lira), are in favor of CBDCs. Where do you think the wind will blow from here?

This is a very important issue. The stablecoin issue is very, very important. The U.S. has said that it will not allow central bank digital currencies ler( )CBDC. This could change an entire economic theory. Because we are talking about programmable money. If central banks create this programmable money, the whole of economic theory changes. Let me tell you why: What are central banks doing right now? They raise the interest rate, they lower it. They are trying to balance and control the money supply. If you program CBDCs by saying, "I'm giving you this money, you can only spend this money here," you're regulating everything. That's not how the system works at the moment. We see the best example of this in Turkey. The state says, I reduced the loan. The main reason for not lending is to suppress inflation and demand. But what do folks do? Until a year and a half ago, he was taking out personal loans and buying gold. Of course, there are people around you who take out the loan and get dollars with all the money they have. This is not possible with programmable money. So the CBDC business is a very strange topic. The U.S. may have said no, but there are countries that defend it.

"Stablecoins are increasing the marketability of American debt"

Another important issue is the stablecoins issued by private companies. This situation increases the marketability of American debt. I was in America last week. Everyone is issuing stablecoins. The president has given the green light, go ahead. Right now, there might be about 30 stablecoins, and that many more will be issued. Why? Is there a better job? You give me your money, and I give you a coin. Everyone wants to do this.

On the other hand, for Turkey to create a stablecoin, the currency must first be stable. There needs to be demand for the currency. We can say that the demand for the Turkish lira is inorganic.

"Tokenization of real estate will be a priority"

How do you evaluate the fact that the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Prof. Dr. Hatice Karahan, mentioned the topic of tokenization in her morning speech? Also, there are opinions that the door has been opened regarding the regulation of real-world assets in the new cryptocurrency law.

The tokenization of real-world assets is the subject they can understand most easily. They understand the tokenization of the house, and yes, they have given the green light here. Because it lies on their heads. I talked to a large construction company that has invested heavily behind this. Since 2017, he has been thinking about tokenization. He wanted to be the JP Morgan of tokenization. This is an area that attracts a lot of business people and entrepreneurs. And it will continue to evolve. We are talking about disruptive innovation. Large construction companies will also enter here. Then we will see more tokenization. This satisfies both demand and supply, so it's a good example.

Once you start tokenizing stocks and valuable assets, including homes, then you can open up to a whole new audience. Because your product is meaningless when you don't do something useful to people. Person A should be able to say, "I can't sell my house. If I divide my house by 10, I can sell it. That's why I can tokenize my house. And it's pretty safe."

"Ethereum price will reach $4000k"

What do you think about the general trend of the market? What kind of future awaits investors who have been waiting in altcoins for a long time in the short term?

For a long time, my opinion has been fixed. I went on CNBC-e and said Bitcoin would be $200,000 at the end of the year. It looks like it will peak at $150-180K, I have a 10 percent margin of error. My interpretation of Ethereum is more near-term. I said $4000,000 for Ether. It was $1500 when I commented, now it's $2800. My thoughts haven't changed. If Ether holds its daily close or weekly close above $2800, I think the upside momentum will accelerate and the price will reach $4000 very quickly. Market makers have gamma squeeze here. Because Ethereum hasn't risen in a while, they hedged their Ether with short positions and options. They will have to take it. Anyway, the depth on the boards is low, it will cost 4000 dollars and I will be right. You will see that I will make fun of those who insult and curse me.

"The path of Bitcoin is clear"

Bitcoin has reached a whole new level and as you can see, it doesn't go below 100 thousand dollars. Could it drop? It could again. But that's not the important thing: the path of Bitcoin is clear. You need to buy it for savings; do you constantly check real estate prices when you buy a house? You need to adopt such a mindset.

"Market makers are playing with the market like a ball"

Some of the altcoins were completely like a criminal weapon. Believe me, if you hear what I know and what I have witnessed, your stomach will come to your mouth. Many Chinese market makers, especially in Singapore and Hong Kong, are playing ball with the market. They don't have good intentions at all. Like the ying yang war inside the human being, we see good and evil fighting in the altcoin market on a regular basis. What am I trying to say? I would like to talk about one project. It is listed on Binance, and I am among its investors. The project has two founders, one of them makes a deal without telling the other and tries to bring the project's tokens to the market. It was the project that fell the most after being listed in the history of Binance. Now, you are making a mistake when you interpret this project only from the outside. Because there is an internal power struggle and a completely different balance. How do we get rid of it? How can we invest?

"Prefer altcoins with a story"

Avoid projects that lead to absurd valuations. For example, FARTCOIN. You can make a lot of money from here, but once you get in, you can't get out. You can't predict it. Just when you think you’ve won, you end up in loss. This time, your hand won't go to sell; as you incur losses, you keep going deeper. Altcoins with a story carry lower risk; these can be invested in. Many will become worthless, just as Özgür Demirtaş said… Some attract interest and attention like a mouse trap, and most of these are memecoins. You can earn money from these, but you need to know well when to exit. If investment is to be made, short-term investments should be made in altcoins with a story.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading activity carries risks, and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.