Huobi Plans to Open Fiat Gateway with Lira-Tether Pairing in Turkey

Global crypto exchange Huobi plans to roll out a fiat gateway in Turkey that could increase access to more than 250 cryptocurrencies for local investors.

The move comes as Turkey puts forward a clearer legal framework for the crypto market in a country where many people already hold cryptocurrencies, Mohit Davar, Huobi's EMEA regional president, told CoinDesk.

Davar said the exchange has partnered with one of the largest local banks to build the infrastructure and compliance standards for the fiat gateway, but declined to name the local bank partner.

He said Huobi would announce the partnership at a launch in December, at the latest, as the actual date could be earlier given as they have already started testing the gateway platform.

Huobi started to establish a partnership with the bank in June, he said, and has since been trying to address some of the biggest concerns voiced by Turkish banks.

The fiat gateway would enable transactions between local fiat currency Lira and dollar stablecoin Tether.

Once users purchase tether through their bank account, they could trade it with any other cryptocurrencies on Huobi Global.

The company believes that the Lira-USDT pairing makes transactions in the local market much easier, compared to offering hundreds of pairing between Lira and the other cryptocurrencies.

Turkish users will be able to trade at a 50% discount with 0.1% transaction fees, and even lower transaction fees by holding Huobi Token.

Another program would open up for professional traders in Turkey to trade with low fees across Spot and Margin trades.