Digital era digital risks: the case study of Turkish crypto currencies market

Abstract

Digitalization, which has accelerated in the 21. century, has brought financial markets to meet new risks. Unlike traditional risks, there are new risks such as cyber security, privacy risk, data protection, new financial institution risks, technological infrastructure risks. Developments in communication technologies and decrease in trust in financial institutions after the 2008 crisis have led to crypto assets combined with blockchain technology that is not connected to governments. Cryptocurrencies are protected by highly powerful encryption technologies. But, these currencies platforms are pose some risks. There are two types of risks in digital platforms. The first risk is that these markets are not yet subject to adequate legal regulations, and the second is cyber attacks. The purpose of this study is to make the extent of the risks that may occur in these digital markets more obvious by Case Study. To explain digital risks, the Thodex cryptocurrency exchange scandal that broke out in Turkey in 2021 has been analyzed. Thodex was Turkey's first global crypto exchange. When the Thodex closed in April 2021, it had 391,000 users. Investors firstly began to complain that their trading orders did not occur on time and that the provisions of the sales did not transfer in their accounts. Thodex first announced that it had closed operations for 3 to 5 days for maintenance purposes against cyber attacks. In the following days, investors were unable to access their accounts, and it became clear that the owner of the firm fled abroad, taking with him corresponds to about $ 2 billion owned by the investors. This scandal reveals the need for legal regulation on cryptocurrency exchanges.