Turkey unveiled dozens of new finds at a major archaeological site in southeast Turkey on Wednesday, giving fresh insight into an area seen as showing humanity’s transition from hunter-gatherers to settled societies more than 11,000 years ago. On a plateau overlooking the fertile plains of what is often called the “cradle of civilisation”, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gobeklitepe and nearby Karahantepe are transforming archaeologists’ understanding of prehistoric times. Among the latest finds in Sanliurfa province is a statue with a facial expression reminiscent of a deceased individual. Archaeologists said it was a unique discovery in terms of death rituals and symbolic expression among Neolithic communities. People walk at the Karahantepe excavation site, widely regarded with Gobeklitepe as keys to understanding the birth of symbolic thought, social complexity and monumental architecture thousands of years before cities or states existed, near the southeastern city of Sanliurfa, Turkey. —Reuters It was...
Turkey’s $200 billion crypto market leads the MENA region, but has been fueled more by speculative activity than by sustainable adoption, according to Chainalysis. Turkey has emerged as the leading crypto market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in 2025, with volumes significantly outpacing those of other markets, including the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, which has grappled with high inflation in recent years, dominated MENA’s crypto market in the past year, recording almost $200 billion in annual transactions, according to the latest regional report by Chainalysis published Thursday. The UAE, the region’s second-largest market, lagged far behind, with crypto volumes of $53 billion, almost four times smaller than those of Turkey. Read more
Federico Carrone, an Ethereum core developer, pledged $500,000 to the Tornado Cash co-founder’s legal fund after being detained in Turkey over alleged links to a privacy protocol. Ethereum core developer Federico Carrone said that he would contribute $500,000 to Roman Storm’s legal fund amid the Tornado Cash co-founder facing a potential retrial in New York. In a Monday X post, Carrone said his experience in Turkey led to the decision to increase his donation to Storm from $50,000 to $500,000. The developer reported that he had been detained by Turkish authorities for about 24 hours over alleged links to an Ethereum privacy protocol. “[A]fter what happened to me, I need to take a clear position,” said Carrone, adding: “I understand that the [Ethereum Foundation] will be matching donations up to another $500K for Roman Storm’s defense, which means our contribution can have double the impact. Our team is currently moving money to execute the transaction.” Read more