Turkish Mission Bank moves to Bitcoin with Taurus

Update March 27: The article has been updated to reflect that the Mission Bank and Taurus partnership is in the first phase of implementation to secure cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.

Mission Bank – an investment banking company and one of the first neobanks in Turkey – is entering digital asset custody and digital assets with Swiss cryptocurrency custody provider Taurus.

Turkey's Neobank has signed a partnership agreement with Taurus to implement its technology to provide crypto storage and tokenization services at Mission Bank. The escrow service will initially support Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Avalanche (AVA), a Mission Bank spokesperson told Cointelegraph.

“In the following phases, we plan to extend our coverage to include other important cryptocurrencies offered to our customers by Taurus,” the representative said, adding that crypto support has been activated in addition to real-world assets.

Announcing the news on March 26, Mission noted that the partnership is with its wholly-owned subsidiary Mysontech.

Mission deploys several Taurus-developed solutions, including storage platform Taurus Protection, tokenization tool Taurus Capital, and blockchain node infrastructure Taurus Explorer.

Taurus is known for providing security services to major European banks, including Spanish financial services giant Banco Santander and international investment bank Credit Suisse. The latter is also a major Taurus investor, leading a $65 million Series B round for the company in February 2023.

Mission Bank CEO Onder Halisdemir said the partnership with Taurus is a major step in Turkey's plan to make it the “Switzerland of its region.”

“Through this cooperation, Turkish assets will be accessible to international investors through tokenization,” Halisdemir said. He added that local solutions for digital assets will be developed with the contribution of Istanbul Technical University and KPMG. The official said:

“With the completion of the local regulatory framework for digital asset custody services, our efforts will position Turkey as a center of excellence and attraction in its region when it comes to custody services and tokens.”

Mission and Taurus did not specify whether the partnership is directly aimed at adding cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) to the Mission platform.

Related: OKX Announces Launch of Turkey Platform

Turkey has emerged as one of the leading crypto economies in the world, ranking fourth in crypto transaction volume or $170 billion by 2023, according to Chinalysis data. The country is behind the US, India and the UK.

According to Mion Bank and Taurus, the newly signed partnership will open the door for institutional activity in the region.

“We are impressed by Mission and Mysontech's team of experts and are confident that with this significant collaboration, Turkey can establish a leading position in digital asset protection and tokenization in the region,” said Lamin Brahimi, founder of Taurus.

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