What products and services do you offer?
BiLira began its journey in 2019 by offering a Turkish Lira stablecoin, TRYB, in Türkiye. Currently, we are developing a crypto exchange, BiLira Kripto, that aims to provide the best execution prices and access to popular – as well as trending – crypto assets in Türkiye. We have an on/off ramp solution named BiLira Direct that will integrate with popular exchanges and wallets, such as Metamask. This will allow protocols to seamlessly on/off ramp with Turkish Lira without needing to be incorporated in Türkiye.
What regions do you serve and what types of customers do you serve?
Our primary focus is on the Turkish market. We have customers from around the world, but our services are mainly tailored for Türkiye.Our suite of products caters to a diverse range of customers. TRYB, our stablecoin, is predominantly used by institutions, high-net-worth individuals, and crypto-native retail customers. Our exchange platform serves mainly retail customers, and our on/off ramp solution is designed for retail users as well.
What challenges are you addressing?
The main challenge we address is access to crypto. TRYB simplifies access to the crypto markets directly with Turkish Lira, making it as easy as a bank transfer. Additionally, TRYB helps with cross-border settlements, reducing both the cost and time required for international transfers. It is widely used by institutions as a settlement layer, allowing them to interact with Turkish institutions and high-net-worth individuals without needing to be incorporated in Türkiye.
Our exchange, BiLira Kripto, provides trading for popular cryptocurrencies and new trending assets. It aims to reduce high transaction costs and facilitate an easy entry into the crypto world. BiLira Direct, our on/off ramp product, enables seamless transactions with Turkish Lira from bank accounts, making it easy for users to buy and sell assets via partner apps like MetaMask.
What challenges did you face as you started building the business?
Founded in 2019, we entered the market during the early days of the blockchain industry in Turkey, especially for stablecoins. At that time, the concept of stablecoins, particularly a Turkish Lira stablecoin, was virtually unheard of. Educating the market on their use cases and benefits posed a challenge. Despite these initial hurdles, BiLira has emerged as an effective medium of exchange, enabling our clients to minimize transaction times and fees compared to traditional markets.
What prompted you to look for a digital asset infrastructure platform and what were you looking for in a provider?
We were seeking a digital asset infrastructure platform that prioritized regulation and compliance, ensuring interoperability and security for our operations. Fireblocks distinguished itself with its strong reputation for security, widespread use, and interoperability. The ease of use and seamless implementation of their API further solidified our decision. Fireblocks' robust internal policies, such as multi-signature authorization, provide maximum security for our transactions and user accounts.
How has Fireblocks supported your specific use case?
Fireblocks’ unified platform for wallet management significantly enhances our operational efficiency. Its ability to implement multi-signature authorization ensures top-tier security for our digital assets. Additionally, storing our company’s crypto investments on Fireblocks allows us to leverage their extensive network of partners, enhancing our operational capabilities and collaboration.
What specific elements of the platform are you using and why?
- Vaults (for TRYB and BiLira Kripto): Provide secure storage for digital and client assets, protecting against theft and unauthorized access.
- Screening: Ensures regulatory compliance by screening transactions for potential risks.
- Whitelisted Addresses (for OTC operations): Streamlines OTC operations and minimizes the risk of incorrect or fraudulent addresses.
- Mint (TRYB): Enables efficient and secure issuance of TRYB tokens.
- Burn (TRYB): Allows clients to redeem TRYB tokens, maintaining ecosystem balance.
- Transfers: Facilitates secure and seamless asset transfers within our network.
Is there a quantifiable cost/time savings component from using the platform you can share?
Depending on the sector standards and emphasizing on the security of transactions, we require a specific amount of block confirmation on the blockchain to successfully reflect the transaction to our user. This way, we prevent any loss of the tokens on the blockchain. While we can't share specific figures, this effective block confirmation management through Fireblocks results in significant time savings for our users, which is a critical aspect for us.
What is your vision for the business and where do you see it going in the future?
Our vision is to provide unparalleled access to crypto in Türkiye. We are committed to serving a B2B audience with our stablecoin, TRYB, and expanding our reach to B2C users through our upcoming exchange, BiLira Kripto. We aim to offer the best prices and a superior user experience. Additionally, our on/off ramp, BiLira Direct, serves both B2B and B2C customers by providing Turkish Lira rails. We aspire to create a product suite that amazes our users and provides equal opportunities worldwide. Fireblocks plays a crucial role in helping us realize this vision with our stablecoin, exchange, and on/off ramp products.
