Digital Currency Market Forecast to Reach $67B
The global digital currency market size is projected to hit $67.34 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 11.86%. According to Mordor Intelligence, growth is driven by rising adoption of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), DeFi expansion, and real-world asset tokenization.
- The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) is advancing its Digital Turkish Lira Project, moving into a second phase that invites local banks, fintechs, and technology firms to develop and test new use cases like programmable and offline payments. This phase aims to transform the initial prototype into a minimum viable product (MVP) by integrating financial intermediaries for broader testing and scalability. - As of May 2024, Turkey's fintech sector, comprising 845 startups, attracted $166 million in investments in the first five months of the year. The ecosystem includes 101 companies specializing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain. - The global market for tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) reached approximately $24 billion in 2025, a significant increase driven by institutional demand for on-chain fixed income and private credit. Projections estimate this market could grow to between $2 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030. - The broader decentralized finance (DeFi) market was valued at over $20 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 46%, with some estimates projecting it to reach over $637 billion by 2032. This growth is driven by the increasing adoption of blockchain and the proliferation of decentralized applications (dApps). - Globally, over 130 countries are exploring Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), with 13 G20 members, including China and India, in the pilot phase. However, adoption in the few countries that have fully launched, such as Nigeria and the Bahamas, remains limited. - In Q2 2025, the Turkish startup ecosystem saw a total deal volume of $857.9 million, a significant increase from the previous quarter, largely driven by Uber's acquisition of a stake in Trendyol Go. AI is a key focus for investors, particularly in defense tech, healthtech, and fintech applications. - Turkey's deep tech sector, consisting of 653 companies, has raised a total of $1.31 billion in venture capital, with $29.6 million raised in the first ten months of 2025. The country is home to approximately 1,200 AI startups, though the median investment size remains around $100,000, indicating an early-stage ecosystem.
