Blockchain is just a database without crypto, legal expert says

cointelegraph.com:

Blockchain can’t be separated from crypto in a progressive manner because extracting blockchain from crypto diminishes the former to a glorified database, leaving all the exciting opportunities out, Turkish law expert Elçin Karatay told Cointelegraph.

As a country that saw Bitcoin (BTC) hit an all-time high on a very different date than the rest of the world, Turkey’s efforts on establishing a regulatory framework while the population flocks to cryptocurrencies as a way to hedge against double-digit inflation can help understanding how to manage crypto regulation in unstable economies.

Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s confirmation that a crypto law is in the works, the Turkish Parliament hosted a delegation of local crypto experts in a bid to better understand the expectations of the ecosystem. Cointelegraph reached out to Elçin Karatay, who was among the group, to get a lawyer’s perspective on the meeting held in Ankara. Karatay is a founding member of the Fintech Association Turkey and works as a managing partner at Solak and Partners law firm.

Defying the popular ”blockchain-is-good-crypto-is-bad” narrative, she argued that blockchain by itself does not require a comprehensive legal assessment as it would be diminished to an essential database technology if crypto is removed from it:

When the governments don this narrative, it results in either total crypto bans or a legalized, “lite” version of crypto that doesn’t have any of the soul of decentralization left in it, she added. Balance is of utmost importance when it comes to establishing a regulatory framework around crypto, Karatay said:

The Turkish blockchain ecosystem, as with any other international business hubs, needs regulation that encourages